The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville today released a request for proposals for a 3.1MW Solar array Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) on Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The PPA will complete the installation’s requirement for a 5MW solar array.
"We're excited to finally get this project moving,” said Jim Duttweiler, Fort Campbell’s Director of Public Works. “When complete this project will provide more than 10 percent of Fort Campbell's power requirements in the form of renewable energy and move us toward energy security and independence."
The project combines a 27-year PPA for a 3.1 MWDC array to be executed through the renewable energy Multiple Award Task Order Contract small business solar pool, and a 10-year Utility Energy Services Contract (UESC) with Pennyrile Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation. Pennyrile applied for and was awarded a $3 million Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy grant from the State of Kentucky, and will use the grant to supplement the cost of constructing the 1.9 MWDC portion of the 5MW solar array.
This is the first time Huntsville Center’s Energy Division will use two third-party financing contract vehicles together (PPA and UESC) for a renewable energy project.
“We are excited about this opportunity to demonstrate how our programs can work together to help installations achieve their renewable energy objectives,” said Sharon Gresham, PPA program manager with the Huntsville Center. Huntsville Center is providing project management oversight in coordination with the Fort Campbell DPW and Louisville District Army Corps of Engineers Real Estate Division.
In 2014, Fort Campbell applied for and received approval for an $800,000 Department of Energy Federal Energy Management Program AFFECT grant (Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies) that will be awarded to the PPA selected developer at task order award. The developer can use the funds to pay down the capital investment for the 3.1MW project.
Fort Campbell has identified 25 acres of land formerly used as a landfill for the PPA solar photovoltaic array project. The contractor will finance, design, build, operate, own and maintain the renewable energy generation facility on the identified land leased from Fort Campbell. Through the PPA, the Army will purchase the on-site generated renewable electricity for up to 27 years in accordance with the terms and conditions stipulated in the resulting contract. Renewable energy produced on Army installations increases energy security, enhances mission effectiveness, and provides a means to temper rising energy costs.
The project will bring the Army closer to its commitment to deploying 1 gigawatt of renewable energy generation by 2025 and Fort Campbell will become more resilient by enabling the installation to rely less on the existing commercial power grid.
Project Fact Sheet (PDF)