Solar Panels Paid for With Taxes, Unplugged

At 900 West Capitol, state employees are hard at work.

But a set of solar panels on site are not.

Installed in 2010 as part of a massive renovation of the state-managed building that houses several state agencies, the panels have not yet powered a single light nor run a single computer.

"The intention of the solar panels are to provide supplemental power to provide energy for this building," said Scott Hamilton, director of the Arkansas Energy Office.

Hamilton says the panels were paid for by federal stimulus money, with a price tag of over $550,000.

Their intent: to generate approximately 20%of the building's daily electricity needs. Even on a cloudy day the panels could power 3 homes.

Hamilton says they wanted to save taxpayer money in the long-run and promote renewable energy sources. There's even two electric car charging stations that could be powered from the panels.

But the big problem is all in the fine print.

"The issue right now is just a contractual agreement that we need to resolve," said Hamilton.

According to recent rulings in a lawsuit between Entergy and Arkansas Tech University, it's unconstitutional for a state agency to enter into a contract with a private company if they require what's called an "indemnification" clause.

Basically, if something goes wrong when they plug in the solar panels, Entergy wants the state to be held responsible for all damage.

The state says that's illegal.

"I am confident that it will be worked out," Hamilton said

Hamilton says he's hopeful an agreement can be reached in court. As soon as it is, he says, they'll flip the switch.

"So was this a good use of tax payer money?" the reporter asked. "Oh yes, 100% percent," Hamilton said.

But Glenn Gallas, a member of the Tea Party and an electrician, disagrees.

"Absolutely another example of government waste," Gallas said.

Gallas says there was no reason to install the panels before it was known if they even could be used.

"It's sort of like buying a house without having a contract signed yet," he said.

And, he adds, the solar panels wouldn't necessarily have been his first choice for stimulus dollars in the first place.

"If you were to ask the citizen what they would want, another solar panel or a police officer, what do you think they would choose?" he said.

Hamilton, though confident they'd be up and running, couldn't say a time frame for when a contract negotiation would be complete.

Entergy told KARK they couldn't comment on pending litigation.

The state is in wait and see mode with the lawsuit involving Arkansas Tech.

It's been appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court, but justices haven't yet decided yet if they'll take the case.

We'll of course keep updated.