Solar project underway at Robins Air Force Base

WCTV via AP 5 October 2014, Solar project underway at Robbins Air Force Base,

The Telegraph reports that land has been cleared on a 57-acre tract near Georgia Highway 247 to make room for solar panels.

Wayne Crenshaw wrote for the Telegraph 3 October 2014, and spelled Robins Air Force Base correctly, Solar array project changes landscape south of Robins,

Previously the 57-acre tract next to Ga. 247 just south of the Museum of Aviation was forestland, but those trees have been cut down over the past month to make way for the solar array….

But what would probably catch people’s eye the most is a couple of F-15s that can now be seen on the edge of the cleared area. Even people who don’t work on base probably recognize that those planes are far away from the maintenance area and runway on the north end of the base.

While I’d think they could find land that already didn’t have trees on it, even what they’re doing is still better than gouging a 600-mile hundred-foot-wide right of way for the 36-inch Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline.

Back to the Telegraph:

Leach wasn’t sure when the solar panels might start going up, but it should be soon, since the project is expected to be completed in January.

The Air Force announced in July it has signed a 20-year lease deal with New Generation Power to build the array, expected to produce 10 megawatts of electricity that will be sold to Georgia Power, which provides the base’s power.

While the power generated will not directly serve the base, it is estimated to be enough to account for an eighth of the base’s power consumption.

Because it is produced on base, it will help the base meet mandates for alternative energy usage.

And that’s a lot faster than a pipeline can be installed, too.

-jsq