TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT, Pa. -- Construction of a solar carport in front of the Mack Fitness and Recreation Center is nearing completion.
The carport will feature a solar photovoltaic array that will supplement or provide power completely to the Mack depending on the amount of electricity it generates. The carport will also provide 27 covered parking spaces.
This construction, as well as the modernization and energy efficiency improvement of 10 paint booths is being done under the Army Corps of Engineers Energy Savings Performance Contract.
Construction of the carport and solar array is scheduled to be complete this month. The array's annual electricity production is predicted to be about 76,000 kilowatt-hours a year; enough to power five single family homes.
"The project is just another example of Tobyhanna's commitment toward sustainability and reducing our impact on the environment, said Nathan Edwards, chief of the Industrial Risk Management Directorate's Environmental Management Division.
Tobyhanna Army Depot is the Defense Department's largest center for the repair, overhaul and fabrication of a wide variety of electronics systems and components, from tactical field radios to the ground terminals for the defense satellite communications network. Tobyhanna's missions support all branches of the Armed Forces.
About 4,500 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., the command's mission is to research, develop, acquire, field and sustain communications, command, control computer, intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors capabilities for the Armed Forces.
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