US Army’s Fort Riley Solar Installation Reaches 16 MW, Powers 40% of Base Housing
U.S. Army Garrison Fort Riley recently celebrated the completion of the third phase of its on-site solar energy project.
This latest phase brings the garrison’s capacity to more than 16 MW and makes it one of the largest renewable energy projects in Kansas. Adding 4.23 MW of capacity, the two ground-mounted solar arrays in the latest phase were interconnected in December and recently completed a month of successful operations.
Corvias, a sustainable infrastructure solutions provider and military family housing partner of the U.S. Army, has led the development of all three phases of the project. Previous phases included rooftop arrays built in 2018 and 2021.
Sunstone Energy Development, a joint venture between Corvias Solar Solutions and Onyx Renewables, collaborated on the project, as did power distribution infrastructure provider City, Light & Power.
Onyx Renewables owns and operates the onsite solar system at Fort Riley.
Readiness means on-base energy generation
The garrison’s solar array supports the U.S. Department of Defense’s operational readiness and resilience goals by providing clean energy and stable electricity rates to Fort Riley’s base housing. It offsets approximately 40% of the electricity required by Fort Riley’s base housing.
“This work continues to ensure a reliable and secure supply of energy to on-post housing and the surrounding area,” said Jim Champagne, Corvias’ senior vice president of asset management at Fort Riley. “Along with our partners, Corvias continues to implement strategies to mitigate vulnerabilities and potential disruptions that may affect the readiness of service members and their families.”
Home to the famed 1st Infantry Division and one of the Army’s premiere training facilities, the garrison serves more than 67,000 people annually, including 15,400 active duty soldiers and nearly 20,000 family members.
Fort Riley’s training division uses live, virtual, construct and gaming integrated training to equip the warriors of the 1st Infantry Division, as well as National Guard and Army Reserve units from Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, with a variety of combat-readiness skills.
Courses range from improvised explosive device (IED) recognition, to firearms, field artillery and weapons training, combat vehicle tactical training, close combat mission capability, medical device use and virtual aviation training.
"By expanding clean energy generation across the base, we are not only strengthening energy security but also reinforcing the long-term readiness of our armed forces," said Patty Rollin, Chief Commercial Officer at Onyx.
Military exploring multiple energy avenues
To ensure the readiness, resilience and security of its facilities and soldiers around the world, the Department of Defense (DOD) has been shifting away from reliance on local power grids. The DOD aims to generate 100% of the mission critical energy load at each of its installations by 2030.
The military is exploring a variety of solutions to reach this goal, including microgrids. U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Cavazos in Texas launched a new intelligent sustainability and restoration microgrid last year and U.S. Air Force commissioned a 10.72 MW combined heat and power microgrid at Yokota Air Base in Japan in 2023.
Microreactor nuclear power plants, hydrogen and long-duration energy storage systems are also being considered for pilot projects at military bases.
