Fort Smith Boys and Girls Club set to ‘flip the switch’ on solar facility

The Fort Smith Boys and Girls Club (FSBGC) is set to officially flip the switch Tuesday (May 20) on a solar facility near its Evans unit that is expected to cover around 80% of the club’s annual electric usage costs for all operations.

The 380-kilowatt facility cost $732,819 and was installed by Little Rock-based Delta Solar, according to the club. Delta will also provide operations and maintenance services for three years on the facility. The solar facility is located south of the Evans unit on 21st Street, and east of the former Whirlpool building along Jenny Lind.

The FSBGC expects, based on information provided by Delta Solar, that the club will save around $40,000 a year on utility costs, which is about 80% of the total annual electric bill.

Funding for the project came from the “direct pay” part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The direct, or elective pay, program allows governments and nonprofits the ability to receive a payment equal to the value of the clean energy credits instead of using such credits to reduce a tax liability. The direct method allows a nonprofit to build a project instead of using tax-equity financing that could take time or make a solar project unaffordable.

The FSBGC facility is the second recently built through a collaboration with Delta Solar. First National Bank of Fort Smith installed a facility near its Phoenix Avenue branch bank. That facility cost around $380,000 with estimated electricity savings of $17,136.

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, 2,770 megawatts of energy in Arkansas comes from solar, which is enough to power almost 324,000 homes and is 4.5% of all electricity generated in the state. Of the 2,770 megawatts, 1,654 was installed in 2024, according to the association.