Water & EnergyTuesday, November 3
Beaver Water District's new solar park will cover up to 20% of its electricity needs
The Daily Bentonville team
If you get your water in Bentonville, part of the power behind it now comes from the sun. Beaver Water District, which also supplies Fayetteville, Springdale and Rogers, finished its solar park last month, and the array is now operational.
The solar park sits on about 32 acres
Area of the solar park, beside places you know
The solar park32 acresabout 32 acres
A football field1.3 acresend zones included
A Walmart Supercenterabout 4.1 acres
24 football fields would fit inside the solar park
Source: Talk Business & Politics
View as table
| Area | |
|---|---|
| The solar park | 32 acres (about 32 acres) |
| A football field | 1.3 acres (end zones included) |
| A Walmart Supercenter | about 4.1 acres |
It sits on the west side of Primrose Street, directly across from the district's main water treatment plant. Madison Energy Infrastructure developed and financed it, and Verogy built it. The 15% to 20% figure doesn't count the new 80-million-gallon-per-day treatment plant now under construction.
- Share of district power: 15% to 20%
- Panels: more than 15,000
- Size: 7.22 megawatts DC, or 5 megawatts AC
- Lifetime net savings: $7 million to $10 million
The solar park costs about $10 million and offsets 8,264 tons a year
- $10 million
- approximate cost of the solar array
- 12,300
- megawatt-hours of renewable energy expected each year
- 8,264
- metric tons of carbon dioxide offset annually