Cooperatives and municipals are their own thing
Arkansas has a large cooperative and municipal utility presence. Those utilities set their own rates and can set their own arrangements for customer generation.
So the Entergy Arkansas non-legacy schedule that most Arkansas solar coverage describes may not be the arrangement at your address, and applying its figures to a cooperative account is guesswork.
That can cut either way. A cooperative may compensate exports more generously or less, may cap system sizes differently, and may charge different interconnection fees.
Check the utility name on a recent bill, then take the specific questions below to that utility rather than to a statewide guide.
The questions worth putting in writing
Ask how exported electricity is compensated and at what rate, and whether that rate is fixed or reset periodically. If reset, ask whether existing customers move to the new rate.
Ask whether generation is netted across a billing period or measured instantaneously, and whether excess credits carry forward or expire on a set date.
Ask what system size limits apply, what the interconnection application involves, what it costs and how long approval typically takes.
Ask whether any solar-specific charge, demand charge or minimum bill applies to customer generators. Some cooperatives have introduced these and they can change the economics materially.
What still applies regardless of utility
The Act 278 consumer protections attach to the seller rather than to the utility. You are entitled to a minimum of five business days to evaluate a proposal wherever you are in Arkansas.
The proposal must state the system description and placement, nameplate capacity, expected monthly and annual output, annual degradation, installation timeline, total cost, payment schedule, payback period, forecast bill savings in dollars and warranty terms.
The seller must demonstrate compliance with safety requirements, hold required permits or certifications, and carry a bond or other financial security for maintenance, and must tell you that you may complain to the Attorney General.
So even where the utility terms are unfamiliar, the quality of the paperwork you receive is something the law gives you a standard for. Use it.
What the number should be built from
The 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Section 25D expired for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, so a cash or loan purchase receives no federal tax credit, and Arkansas has no state solar tax credit.
Section 48E survives at 30 percent for third-party owners under leases and power purchase agreements, so ask what a provider claims and what reaches you in the rate.
Then establish your own utility export terms, netting method, size limits, interconnection process and any solar-specific charges.
Ask for the projection rebuilt from those answers, and check the proposal against the Act 278 required contents while you are at it.