1.5-Megawatt Solar Energy System Will Be Installed By TPI in Paris

The Paris array will include 4,900 panels and the installation is expected to be completed by next year. The project can fulfil the energy demand in the western Arkansas city of 3,400 people. The array is expected to generate 70.75 million kilowatt-hours of solar energy, by 2045. TPI is going to finance, operate and maintain 100% of the array and under a 20-year contract, Arkansas will purchase electricity the array generates at 4.68 cents per kilowatt-hour.

According to Mayor Daniel Rogers, “What this means for the citizens of Paris is we have additional renewable energy that we are delivering to the community. I thought this would be good for economic development. Everyone is moving more toward green. If it is something that can help save the environment and save the city some money, it would be a great idea.”

Paris has started to look into solar power in 2017 but purchasing a solar system didn’t seem feasible for a small city with minimal city employees, as per Rogers.

He further adds, “One company that we looked into required almost $3 million as an initial investment.”

The release shows that, the system is expected to reduce costs in part through preserving federal tax incentives for investments in solar arrays. Arkansas is expected to save $68,387 annually. That would be $1.37 million over 20 years, according to Jennah Denney, marketing and public relations coordinator for TPI.