Fort Campbell is closer to breaking ground on an alternative energy project that will build the largest solar array in the state.
Last week, project coordinators received the green light to break ground in two weeks’ time which will see installation of 5,814 solar modules on 25 acres generating over 2,466 megawatt-hours of electricity annually.
Ft. Campbell Resource Efficiency Manager Dewayne Smith says the base’s electric utility, Pennyrile Rural Electric Co-op, is fronting the capital costs which will be paid back through the energy savings. The array will generate a 5 megawatts capacity, alleviating some of the base’s 31 megawatt average monthly demand.
It's also part of a initiative under the American Renewable Energy Act requiring 25 percent of government installations’ power to be produced by renewables by 2025. For Fort Campbell, those renewables include the solar array as well as a 20 megawatt biomass-burning plant.
