Energy

Farmers market solar canopy closer to construction

Construction could begin as early as October on a $1.45 million solar canopy in downtown Fort Smith that will cover part of a parking lot and provide shade and cover…

Then & Now: Bynum’s varied career prepared him for legal role

Randall Bynum has been an accountant, managed the family furniture business, started his own law firm and been appointed as an Arkansas public service commissioner. All those public and private…

Executive Summary: Hanna says leadership key is knowing when to ask for help

Editor’s note: The Fort Smith Metro Daily News Executive Summary series is focused on looking under the title, so to speak, of a business, government, and non-profit executive in the…

Summit Utilities names Sanders, McNully to new roles

Summit Utilities, Inc. announced Tuesday (Sept. 2) two senior leadership appointments: Scott Sanders has joined the company as executive vice president and chief financial officer, and longtime Summit leader Vernon…

NativState signs agreement with TotalEnergies

Stuart Allen owned a swath of land in central Arkansas and in 2020 he started to explore ways to monetize it. Many property owners make money by selling timber off…

Utilities Black Hills, NorthWestern to combine in all-stock merger

Rapid City, S.D.-based Black Hills Corp. and Sioux Falls, S.D.-based NorthWestern Energy Group Inc. will merge in an all-stock deal, forming a publicly traded electric and natural gas utility valued…

Sediver expands West Memphis facility, will add 25 jobs

Sediver, a Blackstone portfolio company, announced Tuesday (Aug. 12) the expansion of its West Memphis manufacturing plant that will create 25 new jobs. The company plans to spend just under…

Kreuz, Williams join Entergy Arkansas communications team

Entergy Arkansas announced two additions to its communications team. Claire Kreuz and Lamor Williams have been hired to assist the company with internal and external communications and media relations. Both…

EV, hybrid numbers decline in Crawford and Sebastian counties

There has been a more than 37% decline in electric vehicles (EV) registered in Sebastian County in the first half of 2025 compared with the end of 2024, and a…

Packed house for $600 million Keo solar farm hearing

It was standing room only as close to 100 people packed a county annex courtroom in Lonoke County on Tuesday (Aug. 5) to hear plans for a $600 million, 6,000-acre,…

Public hearing planned Tuesday for 5,600-acre, 300 megawatt solar project near Keo

A public hearing is planned for Tuesday (Aug. 5) at the Lonoke County courthouse at 10 a.m. to discuss details of a potential 5,600 acre, 300 megawatt solar field near…

Entergy’s Jefferson County Power Station will utilize new state law for utility financing

Entergy Arkansas is proposing a new natural gas power plant, the Jefferson County Power Station, to be built near the existing White Bluff coal-fired power plant in Jefferson County, which…

Demo Day held in Bentonville for Arkansas Lithium Technology Accelerator

A new accelerator program focused on Arkansas’ emerging lithium industry was held Thursday night (July 31) at The Record in Bentonville. Three companies pitched their solutions and products in the…

Murphy USA posts a gain in quarterly income, revenue decline

El Dorado-based Murphy USA on Wednesday (July 30) posted second quarter net income of $145.6 million, just ahead of the $144.8 million in the same quarter of 2024. Per share…

EV, hybrid vehicle registrations rise in Northwest Arkansas

Arkansas surpassed 60,000 electric vehicles registered in the state in the first half of 2025 after exceeding 50,000 in the second half of 2024, according to data from the Arkansas…

Rice, soybean and lithium-ion battery researchers receive bonus grants from Arkansas Research Alliance

Four researchers with the University of Arkansas System were awarded bonus grants by the Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) for projects to develop innovative applications of rice, soybeans and lithium-ion batteries….

The Venture Center, Standard Lithium launch nation’s first lithium technology accelerator

The Venture Center on Monday (July 14) in El Dorado launched the Arkansas Lithium Technology Accelerator (ALTA) — the first U.S.-based accelerator dedicated to lithium and battery supply chain innovation….

Perry, Nierengarten elected to Arkansas energy group leadership roles

Walmart executive Lisa Perry and Peter Nierengarten, city of Fayetteville environmental director, have been elected to leadership positions with the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association and the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation,…

ArcBest completes test of Tesla electric semi-truck

ArcBest officials said a recent electric semi-truck test indicates “meaningful progress” in the technology, but more evaluation is needed before the Fort Smith-based shipping and logistics company adds the vehicles…

Stitt Solar installs 2 arrays with Fort Smith nonprofits

Stitt Solar, the renewable energy division of Rogers-based The Stitt Group, recently completed two solar array projects in Fort Smith with the help of a $360,000 grant from the U.S….