Staff and Wire Reports
The U.S. Army’s Fort Riley base in Kansas now has enough solar power capacity to cover or offset about 40 percent of its on-post family housing electricity consumption, according to a report by the project leader.
Property management firm Corvias has completed the second phase of a three-part solar installation project at the military installation, installing and activating close to 350 additional solar systems there. Together, the first two phases are expected to generate close to 15,000 MWh of electricity in the first year, enough for about 1,300 homes, the company says.
The third phase of the project is expected to start later this year. The project will be undertaken by Corvias and Onyx Construction, comprising two ground-mount solar arrays within the housing community.
After the completion of the three phases, the project is expected to power about half of the Fort Riley homes in Kansas.
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The program will help the Department of Defense achieve its goal of providing 100% of each military installation’s critical-mission energy requirement by the end of 2030.
Fort Riley, home to units of the Army’s First Infantry Division, including combat artillery and air support units, includes thousands of soldiers and families. The base has been in operation for more than a century.
Corvias has installed over 3,500 rooftop and 17,000 ground-mounted solar panels across military housing facilities in the US, including Aberdeen Proving Ground and Fort Meade in Maryland, Fort Riley. The projects generate 34 megawatts of solar energy, which is enough to power nearly 3,800 homes annually.
The electricity from the projects will offset approximately 50% of annual electricity consumption, according to the company.
