Oak Ridge, TN (PRWEB) April 08, 2015
On Thursday, April 9, 2015, The Heritage Center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the launch of their new 1 megawatt (MW) solar array, Powerhouse Six.
“As we approach the 45th anniversary of Earth Day, it is exciting to think about all the tremendous positive impacts on our environment that were driven by that event," says Paul Clay, President of Restoration Services, Inc (RSI). "And RSI employees are proud to be engaged in both the continued work of environmental cleanup and in sustainability projects like Powerhouse Six that sustain the Earth Day legacy," Clay adds.
Powerhouse Six is a 1 MW utility scale photovoltaic electric power generating facility developed under a partnership between Restoration Services, Inc. (RSI) and Vis Solis, Inc. in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), URS│CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET), and the city of Oak Ridge (COR) in Tennessee. The engineering, procurement, and construction of Powerhouse Six were performed by Vis Solis with LightWave Solar, of Nashville, Tennessee, as the primary subcontractor.
“This project represents an exciting partnership between leaders in the Tennessee Solar Industry," says Carlos Mayer, President and CEO, Vis Solis. "In 2014, the City of Oak Ridge was recognized as a Green Power Community by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. RSI, Vis Solis, and LightWave Solar take great pride in having significantly contributed to helping the City achieve this award. With the new 1 MW Powerhouse Six solar array, we lay ground for more projects and even higher goals in the future,” Mayer adds.
The project is located on a 5-acre parcel acquired under a long-term commercial lease agreement with CROET. When completed, the project will sell electric power to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) though an interconnection with the COR Electric Department (CORED).
The Heritage Center industrial park is a large complex spawned from the Manhattan project. In 1996, a reindustrialization program was launched by DOE and the Oak Ridge community that focused on the reuse of DOE’s former research and development facilities.
“This facility is an excellent example of how former DOE land can be used to promote economic development and sustainability, says Sue Cange, Manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. "This solar array makes use of land that is no longer needed by DOE and is another success for our reindustrialization program," Cange says.
Powerhouse Six will produce approximately 1,400,000 kilowatt hours annually through CORED’s transmission system. That is enough power to provide electricity to 133 average size homes per year and off set greenhouse gases equal to that produced by 203 passenger vehicles per year. The solar array is comprised of 3,268 solar modules rated at 305 watts each that are mounted on a fixed axis, innovative ballasted ground mount system that minimizes ground disturbance at the site. The solar power modules are connected to 29 inverters that transform the power from DC to AC.
