LRSD solar array expected online in March; district projects early savings and reports electric-bus gains
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Summary
Integrity Partners told trustees the off-site solar array is substantially built but delayed by utility interconnection and equipment deliveries; service is expected in March with early savings estimated at about $400,000 per year. The district also reported 25 electric buses are in operation, with fuel-savings estimates.
Integrity Partners and district staff updated the Little Rock School District Board on the district's solar energy project and the electric school bus rollout.
Parker Higgs of Integrity Partners said the large off-site array (located near Marvell, Arkansas) was constructed through the summer and fall but remains partly dependent on Entergy's interconnection work and medium-voltage switchgear delivery. "Right now, we're saying March, expected place in service," Higgs told the board. Entergy's utility work was described as likely to finish in December; the remaining switchgear delivery is expected in February and will be followed by testing and startup.
The project is structured as a solar service agreement, meaning the district has no upfront capital commitment; instead the district will purchase power at an agreed price. Higgs said the agreement price is "about 5 and a half cents" per kilowatt-hour in initial calculations and estimated near-term net savings of roughly $400,000 a year, subject to changes in utility rates. He cautioned rates could change and projected savings could decline later to the $150,000 range in some scenarios.
Separately, the district reported that 25 electric school buses are in service; the fleet has driven more than 60,000 miles and is on track to deliver substantial fuel and operating savings (district staff estimated roughly $130,000 in annual fuel-equivalent savings so far). The board also heard that a backup generator remains pending a gas-line upgrade by the local utility.
District and project staff offered to provide implementation training on billing and credits and to arrange educational outreach for students once commissioning is complete.