Clark Energy Group Selected by the Army To Transform Energy Security By Developing Largest Solar Power Project in Department of Defense History
ARLINGTON, Va. — Clark Energy Group, an affiliate of Clark Realty Capital, has been selected to develop the largest solar power project in Department of Defense history at Fort Irwin, California. Joining Clark Energy Group in their efforts to construct and manage the Fort Irwin Solar Energy EUL project will be Acciona Solar Power of Henderson, Nevada. The selection of Clark-Acciona was made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, Enhanced Use Leasing (EUL) program working in partnership with Fort Irwin and the Department of the Army.
Clark Energy Group Selected by the Army To Transform Energy Security By Developing Largest Solar Power Project in Department of Defense History
"This partnership with the Army will leverage abundant, clean sources of renewable energy to transform Fort Irwin's energy security," said Francis Coen, managing director of Clark Energy Group. "This visionary initiative demonstrates the Army's commitment to environmental stewardship while promoting economic growth. We share this commitment and are proud that the Army selected Clark Energy Group for this important project."
The Fort Irwin Solar Energy EUL pilot project is an initiative of the Secretary of the Army's Senior Energy Council. The council is tasked with coordinating and promoting energy security and policy for the Army by utilizing measures to conserve and use energy wisely while also encouraging the production of alternative sources of energy from the Army's substantial land holdings across the United States.
The EUL program, administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, works to leverage the power of private capital and expertise to fund installation maintenance and operation costs in exchange for long-term leases of Army land through its statutory authority, Title 10 USC, Section 2667.
"The Army is aggressively exploring opportunities such as this to leverage renewable energy alternatives and improve our energy security posture, in close partnership with other government agencies and the private sector," said Jerry Hansen, Army Senior Energy Executive.
The Fort Irwin Solar Energy EUL will entail a flexible, phased, multi-technology approach to delivering up to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of power generation while advancing the transformation of Fort Irwin's overall energy security. The Clark-Acciona proposal features the development of both photovoltaic and concentrated solar thermal technologies at an industrial scale.
"Fort Irwin is proud to host this groundbreaking effort by the Department of the Army in partnership with Clark and Acciona," said Fort Irwin garrison commander, Col. Jim Chevalier. "The proposed solar technology generating plant is the largest solar project in the state, and it illustrates the commitment of Fort Irwin and the Army to incorporate environmental stewardship at all levels of operations."
The proposed development will ultimately include over 500 MW of solar power that will produce 1,250 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable energy per year at Fort Irwin facilities. The Clark-Acciona plan calls for a phased implementation that holistically considers site characteristics, constraints, available resources, current and future technologies, cost, access to transmission lines, and length of approval and connection processes at each stage of construction.
"We can, today, provide proven, financeable, renewable energy technologies that use the sun to power a new era of clean, renewable energy for the United States-this is not conceptual, this is reality," said Greg Rice, Chief Operating Officer of Acciona Solar Power. "Acciona Solar Power's commitment to sustainability increases national security, environmental stewardship, and economic growth. We welcome the opportunity to address these important goals of the U. S. Army."
Fort Irwin is located in the California High Mojave Desert, midway between Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles, California. The installation hosts the National Training Center, which is the Army's premier heavy maneuver Combat Training Center and NASA's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex whose main purpose is to track and communicate with space missions.
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About Clark Energy Group LLC
Clark Energy Group LLC provides full-service energy solutions for public and private sector organizations with a focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy development. Clark was recently awarded a $5 billion Super Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) by the Department of Energy. Clark Energy Group, Clark Realty Capital, and Clark Construction Group are affiliates within the Clark Enterprises, Inc. family of companies. For more information, visit www.clarkenergygroup.com.
About Acciona Solar Power, Inc.
Acciona Solar Power, Inc. is a majority-owned affiliate of Acciona Energy North America Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Acciona Energia, a division of the international company Acciona SA, headquartered in Madrid, Spain. Acciona has completed over 6,000 MW of renewable energy projects around the world. It is the designer, developer and operator of large-scale solar power systems, including the largest solar thermal power plant to be completed in the world since 1991, Nevada Solar One (64 MW) in Boulder City, Nevada, and one of the world's largest solar photovoltaic system in Amareleja, Portugal (46 MW). For more information, visit www.acciona.com.