Environment notebook

Entergy customers offered solar power

Entergy Arkansas customers can pay a solar tariff for access to the utility's 81-megawatt Stuttgart solar power generating facility, the utility announced last week.

Customers will be able to pay a tariff in the future for more projects, such as a 100-megawatt solar array in Chicot County expected to be complete next year, the utility's news release states.

Subscriptions to the solar tariff will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Customers must sign a one-year contract, and residential customers can subscribe in 1-kilowatt blocks, up to 5 kilowatts. Smaller nonresidential customers can subscribe in 5 kilowatt blocks, and large nonresidential customers can subscribe in 100-kilowatt blocks.

Customers who participate in net metering -- people who sell their excess electricity back into the power grid -- cannot subscribe to the tariff.

More information is available by calling the Entergy Business Center at (800) 766-1648 or visiting https://entergyarkansas.com/solaroption.

Research grant aim: State's water needs

Applications are being accepted for preliminary research project proposals that address "critical water needs in Arkansas," the Arkansas Water Resources Center announced last week.

Any Arkansas college or university faculty member or affiliate can apply for the research grant, according to the announcement. Students with a faculty adviser can apply for smaller grants supplementing current research.

Federal employees may not apply as the principal researcher, only in collaboration with faculty as a "co-investigator," the announcement said.

The center, housed at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, will provide the funds via the U.S. Geological Survey's 104B Grant Program, and funding for research projects is contingent on the amount received by USGS.

The center expects to fund faculty up to $25,000 and students up to $10,000.

Interested people can find out more at https://arkansas-water-center.uark.edu/research/104b.php.

State Desk on 06/16/2019

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