Jump to content

Energy in Arkansas

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

TheUnited Statesstate ofArkansasis a significant producer ofnatural gasand a minor producer ofpetroleum.

Though a small percentage of total consumption, its many waterways provide for a higher than averagehydroelectricgenerationcapacity. A higher than average solar exposure has recently begun to be taken advantage of in the state, with three solarphotovoltaicgeneration facilities going online in 2016 and more under construction.Wind powerpotential is modest in Arkansas and the state has no utility-scale wind generation facilities.

A network of 17 regional cooperatives, four investor-owned companies, and a number of municipal providers generate and deliverelectricityto Arkansas customers. Fiveutilitiesdeliver natural gas.[1]

Regulation[edit]

TheArkansas Public Service Commissionoversees all four of the state's natural gas utilities and 24 of its electric utilities. The commission lacks authority over 15municipalproviders.[2]

Policy[edit]

Property assessed clean energy (PACE)
Arkansas enactedproperty assessed clean energy(PACE) legislation in 2013. The law enablesbondsto be issued in voluntarily created energy improvement districts that are then used to fund low-interest loans for renewable energy or efficiency upgrades.[3]CitiesFayettevilleandNorth Little Rockhave since formed local energy improvement districts.[4]

Net metering
Net meteringrules in the state were first established by the Arkansas Public Service Commission in 2002 and were expanded in 2007.[5]Energy generated by renewable systems up to 25 kilowatts for residential customers and up to 300 kilowatts for nonresidential is eligible. Under the law, utilities grant customers credits for excess energy fed to thegrid.Unused credits at the end of a billing year are usable in the next billing year up to the customer's four-month average use in the previous year. Any additional credits are forfeited to the utility.[6]

Efficiency[edit]

TheAmerican Council for an Energy-Efficient Economyranked Arkansas 31st among the most energy-efficient states in 2017, down from 27th in 2016.[7]Arkansas ranked 17th among fellow states in 2014 for overallper capitaenergy consumption.[8]

Electricity[edit]

Arkansas consumed 48,194 millionkilowatt hoursin 2010.[9]In 2012, the state exported 131 trillion moreBTUsof electricity than it imported.[10]

Rates[edit]

The average per-kilowatt-hour electricity rate in Arkansas was $0.08 in 2014, the fourth-lowest in the country.[11]Rates by sector in 2014 were $0.10 for residential, $0.06 for industrial, and $0.08 for commercial.[12]

Generation[edit]

Net generation by fuel source.[13]

In 2014, Arkansas had 14,754megawattsof net summer generating capacity and generated 62 million megawatt hours.[14]

Generation facilities providing public power in the state include:

The state is home to theJohn W. Turk Jr. Coal Plant,which came online in 2012 as the first sustainedultra-supercriticalcoal-fired power plant in the United States.[15]

Arkansas total electric industry generation in megawatt hours by fuel type, 1990–2012.

Emissions
In 2014, Arkansas' power industry released 30 millionmetric tonsofcarbon dioxide,66,524 metric tons ofsulfur dioxide,and 33,229 metric tons ofnitrogen oxides.[16]In 2013, Arkansas ranked 30th in the most energy-relatedcarbon dioxide emissionsand 16th-highest for per capita energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.[17]

Solar power

Main article:Solar power in Arkansas

A 2010 report by theInstitute for Local Self-Relianceestimated Arkansas could generate 19 percent of its 2007 energy need solely from rooftop solarphotovoltaics.[18]

Three utility-scale solar photovoltaic generation facilities began operating in Arkansas in 2016:

In 2017, the 81-megawatt Stuttgart Solar Energy Center began operating inStuttgart.[22]

Two solar photovoltaic facilities are in progress:

  • The 100-megawatt Chicot Solar Project will be the state's largest solar facility upon completion.[23]
  • A 6.5-megawatt facility is planned to open in 2018 inClarksville.[24]

A 1.2-megawatt array for aL'Oréalmanufacturing facility inNorth Little Rockis scheduled to be operational in mid-2017.[25]Notable small-scale solar power installations include rooftop photovoltaics on theFayetteville Public Libraryand theClinton Presidential CenterinLittle Rock.

Wind power

Main article:Wind power in Arkansas

TheU.S. Department of Energyestimates the state has 9,200 megawatts of potentialwind powercapacity at 80 meters.[26]Arkansas is one of 9 U.S. states and theDistrict of Columbiawithout utility-scale wind power.[27]

Other renewables
Arkansas is 14th among states with the most installed hydroelectric generating capacity and 16th with the most generation frombiomass.In 2011, hydroelectric installations generated 2,992 million kilowatt hours, while 1,668 million kilowatt hours were generated from biomass, mostly from wood products.[28]

Providers[edit]

Main article:List of public utilities in Arkansas

Arkansas' electric providers include four investor-owned utilities and a number of municipal and regionalcooperativeproviders. Generation and transmission cooperativeArkansas Electric Cooperative Corporationprovides wholesale energy to 17 regional member cooperatives in the state.[1]

Natural gas[edit]

Natural gas extraction from Arkansas'Fayetteville Shale,2000–2013.

Rates[edit]

In 2015, averagenatural gasrates per thousandcubic feetwere $11.58 for residential, $8.43 for commercial, and $6.91 for industrial customers.[29]

Production[edit]

TheFayetteville Shale,a narrowMississippian agegeological formation that runs across the center of the state, accounts for nearly all of Arkansas natural gas production.Proven reservesof dry natural gas in the state were estimated at 12,789 billion cubic feet in 2014.[30]

Marketed natural gas production in Arkansas more than doubled from 2008 to 2010. In 2014, natural gas production amounted to 1.12 million cubic feet, ranking it eighth-highest among fellow states.[31]Arkansas accounted for 4.1 percent of U.S. production of marketed natural gas in 2014.[10]

Fracking
More than 1,000 minor earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 inGreenbrierled to the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission to close severalhydraulic fracturingwells. Scientists at theUniversity of Memphisand the Arkansas Geological Survey determined the quakes were likely caused by underground fracking wastewater disposal. Local residents filed five lawsuits in federal court againstChesapeake EnergyandBHP Billiton.[32]

Providers[edit]

Main article:List of public utilities in Arkansas

Petroleum[edit]

Production[edit]

Oil drilling began in south Arkansas in 1920 with the Hunter No. 1 well installed inOuachita County.Commercial oil production began in 1921 with the S.T. Busey well inUnion CountynearEl Dorado.[33]

Proven petroleum reserves in the state were estimated at 55 millionbarrelsin 2012, revised up from 40 million barrels in 2011.[30]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Utilities in Arkansas".Arkansas Economic Development Commission.RetrievedMarch 13,2014.
  2. ^"Electric Utilities the Commission Regulates".Arkansas Public Service Commission. Archived fromthe originalon March 14, 2014.RetrievedMarch 22,2014.
  3. ^"PACE Arkansas Initiative (SB 640)"(PDF)(PDF). Arkansas Advanced Energy Association. February 2013. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on June 5, 2014.RetrievedJune 1,2014.
  4. ^"NLR Adopts PACE Act, Creates Energy Improvement District".Innovate Arkansas. March 25, 2014. Archived fromthe originalon June 2, 2014.RetrievedJune 1,2014.
  5. ^"Energy Policy & Legislation".Arkansas Economic Development Commission.RetrievedJune 1,2014.
  6. ^"Net Metering Rules"(PDF).Arkansas Public Service Commission. September 2013. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on November 7, 2014.RetrievedJune 1,2014.
  7. ^"2017 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard"(PDF).The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on November 7, 2017.RetrievedNovember 1,2017.
  8. ^"Rankings: Total Energy Consumed per Capita, 2014".Energy Information Administration.RetrievedSeptember 30,2016.
  9. ^"Arkansas Electricity Generation".U.S. Department of Energy. Archived fromthe originalon March 23, 2014.RetrievedMarch 22,2014.
  10. ^ab"Quick Facts".Energy Information Administration.RetrievedJune 20,2014.
  11. ^"State Electricity Profiles".U.S. Energy Information Administration. March 24, 2016.RetrievedOctober 1,2016.
  12. ^"Average Price by State by Provider".Energy Information Administration.October 21, 2015.RetrievedSeptember 29,2016.
  13. ^Energy Information Administration,Electric Power Monthly, February
  14. ^"State Electricity Profiles".Energy Information Administration.October 2016.RetrievedOctober 1,2016.
  15. ^"SWEPCO's John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant Begins Commercial Operation December 20 in SW Arkansas".Southwestern Electric Power Company. December 20, 2012.RetrievedMarch 7,2014.
  16. ^"U.S. Electric Power Industry Estimated Emissions by State"(XLS).Energy Information Administration.October 21, 2015.RetrievedOctober 1,2016.
  17. ^"Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions at the State Level, 2000-2013".Energy Information Administration.RetrievedOctober 1,2016.
  18. ^"Energy Self-Reliant States"(PDF)(PDF). Institute for Local Self-Reliance. May 2010. p. 12.RetrievedMay 13,2014.
  19. ^"Largest Solar Energy Field in Arkansas is Operating".Silicon Ranch. March 29, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon March 5, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 1,2017.
  20. ^"Ozarks Electric Cooperative Solar Generation Facility Fully Operational; Renewable Energy Program Offering for Members Announced".Ozarks Electric Cooperative. April 22, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 1,2017.
  21. ^"AVECC Launches Solar Facility".Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative. October 4, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 1,2017.
  22. ^"After Stuttgart, Entergy Plans Even Bigger Solar Project Near Lake Village".Arkansas Business. October 30, 2017.RetrievedOctober 31,2017.
  23. ^"Largest solar farm in Arkansas planned".ArkansasOnline.com. October 31, 2017.RetrievedOctober 31,2017.
  24. ^"Clarksville Light & Water Company and Scenic Hill Solar Partner for Arkansas's Largest Solar Power Plant for a Municipal Utility".Clarksville Light & Water Company. June 30, 2017. Archived fromthe originalon November 7, 2017.RetrievedJuly 3,2017.
  25. ^"L'Oreal building solar projects at Arkansas, Kentucky plants".September 20, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon January 3, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 2,2017.
  26. ^"Estimates of Windy Land Area and Wind Energy Potential, by State, for areas >= 30% Capacity Factor at 80m"(XLS).U.S. Department of Energy. April 13, 2011.RetrievedMay 12,2014.
  27. ^"Q2 2017 Installed Wind Power Capacity (MW)".U.S. Department of Energy. 2017.RetrievedAugust 14,2017.
  28. ^"Electricity Generation from Renewable Energy in Arkansas".U.S. Department of Energy. March 27, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon March 22, 2014.RetrievedMarch 22,2014.
  29. ^"Natural Gas Prices".U.S. Energy Information Administration. September 30, 2016.RetrievedOctober 3,2016.
  30. ^ab"Natural Gas Reserves Summary as of Dec. 31".U.S. Energy Information Administration. November 19, 2015.RetrievedOctober 3,2016.
  31. ^"Rankings: Natural Gas Marketed Production, 2014".U.S. Energy Information Administration.RetrievedOctober 3,2016.
  32. ^"Insight: Arkansas lawsuits test fracking wastewater link to quakes".Reuters. August 27, 2013.RetrievedJune 18,2014.
  33. ^"Crude Oil".Arkansas Geological Survey. Archived fromthe originalon February 3, 2014.RetrievedJune 15,2014.


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Energy_in_Arkansas&oldid=1212712879"