CASPER, Wyo. — A new solar energy array will begin installation outside of Laramie in fall 2021, according to a Thursday, July 15 press release from Creative Energies and the 9H Research Foundation.
The installation will initially be a 0.5 megawatt (MW) solar system, which would make it the third largest in Wyoming, according to the release. The solar array will eventually be expanded to a total of 3 MW.
The press release state that the 0.5 MW system will generate about 976,200 kilowatt-hours annually, which is equivalent to:
- 16,270 trees planted
- 810,246 pounds of coal saved
- 1,274,917 pounds of CO2 avoided
- 1,005,486 miles not driven
Creative Energies is designing and installing the 9H Research Foundation System and also announced a $10,000 in-kind donation to the solar facility on Thursday.
The new solar array will provide University of Wyoming students “with opportunities to gain hands-on experiential learning,” according to the release. “The research center will also provide live data to help solar developers make equipment decisions for utility-scale solar installations.”
The 9H Research Foundation is collaborating with partners like the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium and Argonne National Laboratory for the research center.
The foundation has sponsored 31 students who competed in a $5,000 “Senior Energy Design Challenge” and has hired two student interns and funded five student groups to design and build solar energy and storage projects to date.
“The 9H student solar project gives Wyoming students the ability to gain hands-on experience in the clean energy sector and represents an exciting opportunity for the state,” 9H Foundation Co-Founder and CEO Gene Humphrey, who is also an Army helicopter pilot veteran and UW alumnus, said in the release. “The 5-acre project will serve as a state-of-the-art innovation hub to propel research and fund student scholarships, projects, and experiential learning activities for decades to come.”
Creative Energies Co-Owner Scott Kane added that “9H Energy Research Foundation with the University of Wyoming as its partner is in a great position to provide state-wide leadership in the deployment of solar in Wyoming. This project and others that follow its model can help to drive innovation, jobs, and economic development on Wyoming’s terms. Creative Energies is happy to donate our expertise to this project — doing our part to demonstrate that in Wyoming, we are ready to work together toward a clean energy future.”
