Supporting Arkansas’ Rising Energy Demands
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation is committed to continuing to fulfill its mission to provide electric cooperative members with reliable, affordable power in a responsible manner. Our new generation projects will provide 24/7/365 readily dispatchable energy resources for AECC’s distribution cooperatives and ultimately, the more than 1 million electric cooperative members in Arkansas and parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Louisiana.
Project Details
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC) is now operating its 122-megawatt (MW) Woodruff County Solar project in full capacity and commercial operation.
The solar array is located adjacent to the site of the former Carl Bailey Generation Station in Augusta. AECC is the generation and transmission cooperative for the state’s 17 local electric distribution cooperatives.
Located on an 800-acre property, the array footprint is 545 acres and features bifacial and tracking solar modules that absorb sunlight from both sides of the panels. The energy produced from this $175 million solar facility will provide supplemental, weather-dependent generation.
In its first year of full capacity, the Woodruff County Solar facility is expected to generate 270,487 MWh, enough to power 25,000 homes.
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC) is expanding its Thomas B. Fitzhugh Generation Station near Ozark. This project is part of AECC’s strategy to address wholesale generation needs.
The $93 million capital investment project includes adding two natural gas generating units at the Fitzhugh station, which will increase capability by 100 megawatts (MW) - bringing the total generation capacity to 270 MW. The two additional units will also have the ability to operate on fuel oil.
“The expansion at Fitzhugh is crucial to continue providing reliable, affordable dispatchable power to our 17 member cooperatives and, ultimately, our 1.2 million electric cooperative members,” said Vernon “Buddy” Hasten, president/CEO of AECC and Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. “AECC strives to be positioned to have wholesale generation resources that are not weather-dependent. The investment at Fitzhugh is intended to ensure readily dispatchable energy to meet the growing demand for electricity.”
Construction began in late September, and its completion date is slated for the fourth quarter of 2025. Fitzhugh, AECC’s first generating plant, came online in 1963 and was repowered in 2003.
The two-turbine, simple cycle generation facility will encompass approximately 100 acres. The facility is located within the Southwest Power Pool regional transmission organization (RTO) footprint and will assist with reliability within the RTO. This new state-of-the-art asset will be among the highest-performing, lowest-emitting and most efficient natural gas plants in AECC’s fleet.
The plant is part of AECC’s plan to address wholesale generation needs. AECC plans to have the dispatchable generation resource in commercial operation by 2029.
The Morris County site’s proximity to natural gas pipelines and transmission are the primary factors in the location selection. Construction of the plant is scheduled to begin in summer 2026.
We strive to be an engaged corporate citizen and a good neighbor in the communities where we own and operate power plants. The construction of these new assets will create permanent, high-quality jobs, hundreds of temporary construction jobs, increased local revenue during construction and ongoing tax revenue for schools and county operations.