It was standing room only as close to 100 people packed a county annex courtroom in Lonoke County on Tuesday (Aug. 5) to hear plans for a $600 million, 6,000-acre, 300-megawatt solar energy farm near Keo. The project would be located about 90% in Lonoke County and 10% in Pulaski County.
The power it would supply could serve 70,000 residential homes, or two times the size of North Little Rock’s population. There will be about 300 jobs at the height of construction and three full-time jobs to manage the project once it is operational.
“I’m grateful for all the feedback we got today. It’s always great to see members of the community come out and engage with us on projects. We’ll take in all their comments as we move forward,” said Eve Shanahan, senior analyst for renewable development for Invenergy, a Chicago-based company that would oversee construction and manage the solar farm known as the Downstream Solar Energy Center.
The power generated by the solar farm will feed into the state’s energy power grid. It is expected to tie into a substation near Keo owned by Entergy Arkansas. If approved, construction of the solar farm could start in 2026 and be operational by 2028.
With land contracts in place, approval of the project rests on the shoulders of Lonoke County Judge Doug Erwin. State law prescribes his office as having final decision-making authority for the financial arrangement with the county.
“I feel like it’s a good thing for the county. It’ll increase the property taxes from ag land to commercial. I feel confident it won’t have an adverse effect,” said Erwin. “I also understand negotiating and I realize it has to work for them [Invenergy] as well, but I don’t see a lot of negative benefit from what they’re proposing.”
Invenergy has proposed a PILOT period, or Payment in Lieu of Taxes, that would result in a 65% abatement rate. As land values would change from agricultural to commercial zoning use, the PILOT payments of 35% would result in Lonoke County receiving $7.5 million in new money over the next 50 years, the Pulaski County Special School District receiving $20.3 million, and the England School District receiving an additional $34 million over the next half century. Nearly three-fourths of that new tax benefit would be seen in the first 30 years.
Erwin was clear that the bond for this project will not raise taxes for any Lonoke County taxpayers.
There were concerns raised by citizens at Tuesday’s public forum surrounding Invenergy’s ownership, the environmental impact, and taking useful farmland out of production. Invenergy officials said their ownership and location is U.S.-based.
Judge Erwin clarified that all of the landowners involved in this project have done so willingly.
“Every bit of the property encompassed in this is on a voluntary basis,” he said. “This is not a condemnation process… It is the landowners’ will to be involved in this project.”
Keo Mayor Stephane White, who asked Invenergy officials a number of questions regarding tax benefits for her town, the county, and the England School District, said she still needs clarification on the final benefits of the project.
“I’m still uncertain on the exact monetary gains for the county and certainly for the city of Keo,” she said after the meeting.
Invenergy has three projects in Arkansas already in Lee County, St. Francis County, and Arkansas County. Officials said they are involved in around 50 other projects companywide. The company develops and manages projects that include solar, wind, natural gas and battery storage. Invenergy’s Shanahan said specifically that no wind energy projects were planned for the Downstream site.
However, not all of the 6,000 acres will be used for solar panels as part of it may remain untouched. The project has to comply with road setbacks, wetlands management, and other state and local land use ordinances. Invenergy leaders said t