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

Crooked Lake Solar Park will directly support Arkansas’ electric grid and is built on land leased by local landowners who recognize the benefits of hosting a solar project and believe the economic impact it’ll bring to the city and greater county, complimenting the area’s agricultural heritage.

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

“We’re proud to continue our expansion in the South with a focus on serving the clean energy needs of Arkansas,” said Sandhya Ganapathy, CEO of EDP Renewables North America. “By providing sustainable energy to Mississippi County and the surrounding area, we are generating economic growth and grid stability for generations to come in the region.”

A special focus was placed on STEM education and local community impact, using the construction of the project to educate K-12 students at Armorel School District and Blytheville School District on the benefits of wind and solar through school visits and science-related challenges organized in partnership with KidWind. In addition, the project team — alongside groups like 4H and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated — volunteered and donated to several organizations revitalizing Blytheville and broader Mississippi County, including the Adopt a Block Initiative and Mississippi County Union Mission.

“We’re grateful for EDPR NA working alongside The City of Blytheville’s Quality of Life Division to take an active role in helping to beautify our city and to unite our community together to do something positive. EDPR NA’s sponsorship in the Adopt a Block Initiative provided much-needed logistical support and supplies,” said Mayor Melisa Logan. “The team through their support helped us highlight heroes that took the courageous step to adopt blocks in our community, which truly made an impact.”

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

News item from EDPR