Defense Logistics Agency Energy, in coordination with the U.S. Army Office of Energy Initiatives and Fort Hood, has signed a renewable energy supply agreement with Apex Clean Energy Holdings LLC for 65.8 MW of electricity from a combination of large-scale solar and wind facilities in Fort Hood, Texas.
The Army is expected to pay about $168 million less than what it would pay for power from the traditional electricity grid over the course of the 28-year agreement.
Apex’s hybrid project will feature 50.4 MW of wind energy from the Cotton Plains Wind facility in Floyd County, Texas, and 15.4 MW AC solar from the Phantom Solar facility on-site at Fort Hood. The project will begin providing energy to Fort Hood in 2017.
Apex is collaborating with two service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, Tennessee Valley Infrastructure Group (TVIG) and American Helios, on the development and construction of the project. TVIG will serve as the balance-of-plant contractor on the wind energy component project, and American Helios Constructors will support construction of the solar component.
“The project at Fort Hood – the Army’s first hybrid and largest single renewable energy project to date – is an excellent example of the extraordinary results we can achieve through collaboration,” says Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment. “The Army will continue to partner with private-sector entities, such as Apex Clean Energy Inc., to expand renewable energy initiatives on our installations.”
