Entergy Arkansas plans to build the state’s largest solar project to power steel manufacturing plants near Osceola in Mississippi County.
The Arkansas Public Service Commission greenlit the 250 MW Driver solar project, which would be built by Lightsource bp, one of the largest solar developers in the world.
Lightsource bp has completed development and permitting of the solar field and plans to build the facility under a build-transfer agreement with Entergy Arkansas. Driver Solar has an expected completion date in late 2024.
Driver solar would be sited adjacent to the U. S. Steel’s Big River Steel facility.
All 250 MW of the Driver solar project will be generated using advanced, ultra-low carbon thin-film solar modules manufactured by First Solar at its manufacturing complex in Ohio. In November 2021, Lightsource bp announced a large procurement deal with First Solar for 5.4 GW of modules.
The project is another step toward a cleaner future for Entergy Arkansas. Earlier in 2022 Entergy Arkansas issued an RFP for 1,000 MW of wind and solar resources.
In June, Entergy discussed plans for up to 7 GW of renewable resources across its portfolio by the end of 2025, and as much as 17 GW by the end of 2031.
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