EDP ​​Renewables completes 175 MW solar project in Arkansas

EDP ​​Renewables North America announced the completion of the new Crooked Lake Solar Park near Blytheville in Mississippi County, Arkansas. The 175-MW project will produce enough energy to power the equivalent of 30,000 homes in Arkansas each year.

Crooked Lake Solar Park will directly support the Arkansas electrical grid and will be built on land leased by local landowners who see the benefits of hosting a solar project and believe in the economic impact it will have on the city and county as a whole, complementing the area’s agricultural heritage .

Crooked Lake will provide more than 330 construction jobs and six permanent jobs related to ongoing operations and routine maintenance of the project. It will pay an estimated $106.2 million to local landowners, pay local governments an estimated $12.4 million in taxes over the life of the project, and invest millions of dollars in the local economy over the next several decades.

“We are proud to continue our expansion into the South with a focus on meeting the clean energy needs of Arkansas,” said Sandhya Ganapathy, CEO of EDP Renewables North America. “By bringing sustainable energy to Mississippi County and surrounding areas, we generate economic growth and grid stability for future generations in the region.”

Particular emphasis was placed on STEM education and community impact, using the project to educate K-12 students in the Armorel and Blytheville school districts about the benefits of wind and solar energy through school visits and learning challenges hosted at cooperation with KidWind. Additionally, the project team – along with groups such as 4H and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated – has volunteered and made donations to several organizations revitalizing Blytheville and broader Mississippi County, including the Adopt a Block Initiative and the Mississippi County Union Mission.

“We are grateful for EDPR NA’s partnership with the City of Blytheville’s Quality of Life Department to take an active role in beautifying our city and bringing our community together to do something positive. EDPR NA’s sponsorship of the Adopt a Block initiative provided much-needed logistical and supply support,” said Mayor Melisa Logan. “The team, through their support, helped us recognize heroes who took the brave step of adopting lockdowns in our community, which really made an impact.”

The move to Arkansas marks EDPR NA’s continued expansion into new state markets across the South, most recently expanding to utility-scale operations in North Carolina and Mississippi, as well as distributed generation coverage in states from Virginia and South Carolina to Florida and Louisiana.

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