Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. to Build Solar Array with Today’s Power, Inc.

SWAECC Building 1 MW Solar System in Texarkana

Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative (SWAECC) has reached an agreement with Today’s Power, Inc. (TPI) to begin building a 1-megawatt solar array near the headquarters of the cooperative in Texarkana, Arkansas.

“Our partnership with Today’s Power allows us to add 1 MW of renewable generation to our portfolio and improve the quality of life for our members. Our mission at Southwest Arkansas Electric is to provide first-class electric service to the community that is safe, reliable and affordable, “said Wayne Whitaker, SWAECC President and CEO.

Encompassing approximately 8 acres of land, this single-axis tracking array is one of the country’s most advanced systems and will include over 3,800 panels. The system has been designed to mitigate a portion of SWAECC’s peak demand and will produce a maximum peak power of 1 MW. TPI will install 1.4 MW of DC power to invert it to 1 MW of AC.

Breaking ground today, the solar facility will provide local generation for SWAECC members. The distribution cooperative has more than 4,531 miles of distribution lines, 139 miles of transmission lines, 35 substations, and services 32,715 meters.

Out of the 17 electric cooperatives in Arkansas, this is the 13th cooperative for whom TPI has developed a solar or storage project with most of them within the scope of 1 MW as a result of a utility partnership in Arkansas.

“This solar project is a representation of the board of director’s and management’s excellent commitment and vision to further improve the quality of life in their communities, thus creating substantial savings for the members of SWAECC for the next 25 to 30 years.,” said Michael Henderson, President of TPI.