Scenic Hill Has View From Top of Solar Contractors List

A day after Shine Solar of Rogers celebrated its listing among the top residential solar suppliers in the nation, commercial contractor Scenic Hill Solar of Little Rock announced Tuesday that it was listed as the top Arkansas-based solar energy company on Solar Power World’s 10th annual Top Solar Contractors list.

The publication’s 10th annual rankings also placed Scenic Hill the 23rd largest solar energy developer in the United States. The rankings also broke down companies by area of business, with Shine 34th among residential solar installers.

Scenic Hill, led by former Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, has built or has under contract nearly two dozen major projects ranging from companies like L’Oreal USA and Bank OZK to entities like cities, school districts and Central Arkansas Water.

Founded in 2015, Scenic Hill developed more than 9 megawatts of solar power plants in Arkansas in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, said Halter, who interrupted his vacation for a brief phone call. 

The company noted its work for Clarksville Connected Utilities; Arkwest Communications; Bank OZK; Producers Rice Mill Inc.; Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority; Audubon Arkansas; Ouachita County, its medical center and water utilities; the cities of Camden, Stuttgart, Hot Springs, Forrest City and Greenwood; and the school systems of Guy-Perkins, Centerpoint, Stuttgart, Fountain Lake and White County Central. It also built a system for the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub.

“We want to thank our clients — the businesses, cities, counties, school districts and public utilities who have decided to invest in lower-cost, clean energy for Arkansas,” Halter said in a news release.

Scenic Hill projects helped Clarksville become the first Arkansas city government with 100% solar energy, and Guy-Perkins the first school system with that distinction. Camden and Ouachita County were the first entities of their kind to go all solar, and Bank OZK’s project is the largest by an Arkansas financial institution.

“We are proud to work in partnership with these community and business leaders through every step of the process, from land acquisition, to financing, to regulatory approvals, to construction, and operation” said Halter, “Through vision and commitment, our clients are bringing the new energy economy to Arkansas.”