NCIF launches first investment with $32 Million to build 18 solar plants in Arkansas

Climate United, one of three organizations selected to manage the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF), revealed on Tuesday that it has made its first significant move by investing $31.8 million to support solar plant development in Arkansas.

Often dubbed America's "green bank," the NCIF focuses on funding national clean energy technology initiatives.

The inaugural $32 million investment will go to Scenic Hill Solar, a solar energy investment firm. In collaboration with the University of Arkansas, Scenic Hill plans to construct 18 solar plants spanning 13 utility service territories. These solar projects are expected to generate over 4 billion kWh of clean energy. According to Scenic Hill's CEO, Bill Halter, Scenic Hill's prior partnership with the University of Arkansas and the institution's extensive reach throughout the state made them an ideal match for NCIF's investment criteria.

"The immediate beneficiaries of the project are 70,000 students, 17,000 faculty, [and] every University of Arkansas campus in every region of the state," said Halter, "but the indirect beneficiaries are literally all 3 million Arkansan because it's a publicly funded institution."

"One of the things that we really saw in the Scenic Hill team was a great example of really looking at how to make sure that this project and this investment was doing everything it could to maximize the benefits on local economic impacts across the state of Arkansas, particularly for rural America," said Beth Bafford, CEO of Climate United, part of the coalition making up the "green bank."

Bafford highlighted that Scenic Hill's application stood out because it successfully met NCIF's three core objectives:

• Delivering a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

• Directly improving people's lives.

• Bridging market gaps to stimulate private capital growth.

"All three of those objectives are clearly met," said Bafford.

Although the funding was only recently announced, Halter noted that there is already considerable community interest in private investment. Landowners are eager to host the solar plants, while contractors, suppliers, and local banks also express strong interest in getting involved with the project.

"We've got a number of local tax equity suppliers and … a couple of investment banks that are Little Rock headquartered that are now engaging in debt transactions on these assets," said Halter. He also stressed the importance of Scenic Hill Solar's establishment within its local community since the company's inception nine years ago, establishing "a kind of ecosystem for our industry."

The project's next phase will concentrate on securing permanent private financing and initiating the construction of the solar plants. When asked about Climate United's timeline for future investments, Bafford mentioned that another announcement is expected before the end of 2024. Despite the upcoming presidential election, Bafford assured us that the NCIF funds would remain unaffected and fully secure.

"The funds are fully obligated out of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was a $27 billion program across the National Clean Investment Fund," said Bafford. "Those funds had to be obligated before the statutory deadline, which was [Sept. 30], and were obligated in early August."