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The Arkansas Public Service Commission has denied Entergy Arkansas’ request to approve a 20-year power purchase agreement for the proposed 440-megawatt Big Island Solar facility in Mississippi County.
Entergy said the 3,200-acre project would help meet future energy and capacity needs, generate renewable energy credits, support Google’s clean energy goals for its West Memphis data center and provide economic benefits to Arkansas. The site is a few miles from the planned Google data center in West Memphis.
Groundbreaking for the solar farm took place July 11. Officials said the project would be the nation’s largest solar farm.
Entergy projected the project could generate between $29 million and $214 million in net benefits for customers over the life of the agreement.
In its 52-page decision, the commission concluded Entergy failed to meet Arkansas law’s requirements for a long-term power purchase agreement. Commissioners said Entergy did not provide sufficient evidence that the contract’s costs were reasonable or that it would save customers money compared with other options.
The commission found several key assumptions were not adequately supported, including projected capacity benefits, fuel stability benefits, renewable energy credit values, fuel diversity benefits and assumed future carbon tax impacts.
Commissioners also expressed concern about the project’s economics depending heavily on renewable energy credit revenues. Those revenues were still under negotiation with Google and had not been finalized.
The commission questioned Entergy’s claims regarding the value of the solar facility’s capacity contribution and whether the utility had demonstrated a genuine need for the project. Commissioners cited Entergy’s access to the regional energy market, uncertainty about future load forecasts and other generation options, including the potential conversion of its White Bluff units from their current coal configuration to natural gas.
Commissioners said Entergy had not shown the project was required by public convenience and necessity or that it was necessary to supplement or replace existing generation resources.
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Temps:  High: 96  Low: 72
Rain 24hrs: 0.00″ 
Month: 1.24″   Year: 34.57″

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