Bank OZK has received an approval from the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to construct a solar power plant. The solar plant will be the third-largest commercial solar facility dedicated to a private sector customer in the State of Arkansas, and it is expected to have generating capacity of 4.8 MWDC.
The APSC approval will aid the bank’s $6 million sustainable energy initiative to produce enough renewable energy to power the its recently completed corporate headquarters in Little Rock and up to 40 more bank offices in Arkansas. The bank will soon finalise the purchase of the site for the solar power plant and begin construction.
“This is the largest investment in renewable energy by an Arkansas-based financial services company,” said Tim Hicks, Chief Credit and Administrative Officer at Bank OZK. “We are pleased to play a leading role investing in sustainable and clean energy, which will provide stable electrical power at a predictable price well into the foreseeable future.”
Scenic Hill Solar, LLC, of North Little Rock, Arkansas, will develop and oversee construction of the solar power plant, which will include over 11,000 solar panels on a single-axis tracking system. Over the course of a year, the facility is expected to generate more than 8.1 million kWh of electricity, enough to provide the electricity equivalent for over 1,000 homes for 12 months.
“The solar plant reflects our strong commitment to environmental responsibility,” said Hicks. “We expect to reduce our carbon footprint by about 160,000 tons of carbon dioxide over the next 30 years.”
