Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) has filed a request with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) for approval of a project that would bolster energy reliability and resilience at the U.S. Army base in Fort Sill, Okla. The project would provide more clean energy to the power grid, add to the safety and security of grid modernization efforts and increase energy supply diversity for PSO customers.
PSO announced June 26 that the company had signed a 30-year lease with the Army to install an energy resilience project on approximately 81 acres at Fort Sill, located near Lawton, Okla. If approved by the OCC, the $117.9 million project includes the construction of 36 megawatts (MW) of gas-fired electric generation and 10.9 MW of solar panels.
While the proposed facilities would be located at Fort Sill, all of the energy generated would flow onto the electric grid to serve all PSO’s customers. In the case of an outage, the facilities could be isolated from the grid and provide enough power to sustain Fort Sill’s mission critical operations.
If approved, construction on the project would begin in fall 2021. The solar facility would be operational in 2022, while the gas-fired generation would come online in late 2023.
Along with the initial 30-year lease, there is an option to extend for 10 additional years, under statutory authority 10 USC §2667. PSO’s application includes a request for the company to recover the costs of the project.
About PSO
PSO, a unit of American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP), is an electric utility company serving more than 557,000 customer accounts in eastern and southwestern Oklahoma. Based in Tulsa, PSO owns approximately 3,800 megawatts of generating capacity fueled primarily by natural gas. It also maintains and operates 22,000 miles of distribution lines and 3,700 miles of transmission lines. PSO is one of the largest distributors of wind energy in the state. News releases and other information is at www.PSOklahoma.com. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @PSOklahoma.
ABOUT FORT SILL
Fort Sill, located about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, is a hub of joint and multinational partnered training that covers almost 94,000 acres, including more than 80,000 acres of training land.
The base is home of the Fires Center of Excellence, which continually and progressively educates, trains, and inspires “Fires” soldiers and leaders and develops requisite capabilities to ensure current and future forces can accomplish their missions while providing unparalleled support to the Fort Sill Community.
Fort Sill is a designated National Historic Landmark and serves as home of the United States Army Field Artillery School as well as the Marine Corps' site for Field Artillery Military Occupational Specialties school, United States Army Air Defense Artillery School, the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade and the 75th Field Artillery Brigade.
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