Suniva Inc., a Georgia-based solar panel manufacturer and member company of Shunfeng International Clean Energy Ltd., has announced that its Optimus solar panels are producing energy at a capped landfill at the Fort Campbell military base in Kentucky. The company says the 1.9 MW solar array helped turn 10 acres of retired landfill into a clean-energy-generating site.
“Solar arrays such as this one at Fort Campbell serve as a two-fold solution: enhancing the foundation of the energy security for our nation’s military bases, while at the same time providing a sustainable benefit on previously unusable waste land,” states Matt Card, Suniva’s executive vice president of commercial operations.
“Beyond this application for our military, Suniva’s products are an ideal fit for landfill reclamations such as this. Because of the strict environmental regulations of building on a landfill, the infrastructure costs are typically higher than average. The high power density of our modules helps reduce the overall racking footprint of these systems.”
The project is a result of collaboration between Fort Campbell, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, and Pennyrile Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation. Pennyrile Rural Electric and Fort Campbell worked with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet in securing $3.1 million grant for the renewable project, and Pennyrile financed $1.9 million as a part of a Utility Energy Services Contract with Fort Campbell.
Suniva worked with power management company Eaton, which provided engineering, procurement and construction services, as well as a range of electrical balance-of-system solutions.
Photo courtesy of Eaton
