Primergy Solar has announced its 100 MWAC solar project in Ashley County, Arkansas, is fully operational. The project, called Amazon Solar Farm Arkansas – Prairie Mist, is now delivering solar energy to the grid and marks the second project in Primergy’s portfolio to come online in 2024.
“Prairie Mist represents a step forward in our mission to develop impactful projects that benefit local communities and meet the diverse needs of our customers,” said Ty Daul, CEO of Primergy. “Achieving commercial operation is a monumental milestone for our team, and we are grateful to our partners for their support and commitment to bringing clean energy to the Arkansas region.”
Prairie Mist connects to Entergy’s transmission system in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) operational footprint. It will provide solar energy under a power purchase agreement with Amazon and the capacity attributes will be sold to the city of North Little Rock under a 20-year contract. The solar project can generate enough energy to power the equivalent of approximately 22,000 homes per year and improves Arkansas’ energy generation mix and energy independence by reducing dependence on carbon-emitting resources.
Primergy engaged Primoris Renewable Energy, a leading utility-scale solar contractor, as the engineering, procurement and construction partner for the project. Prairie Mist created approximately 200 construction jobs and is expected to contribute approximately $10 million in tax benefits to Ashley County over the term. In addition to the construction and tax credits, Primergy is supporting the community by building an ADA-accessible playground and shade structure at the local high school, Hamburg High School.
During the development of the project, Primergy closed $300 million in debt and tax financing for construction and development in 2023 with debt facilities led by SMBC as transaction agent, Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, Societe Generale and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank. The tax equity investment was led by PNC Bank.
News item from Primergy Solar
