Stanley Black & Decker and the City of Hopkinsville took a large step into solar futures Friday morning, when officials from both convened to unveil a 15-acre, 4.6 Megawatt solar farm for the company.
The state’s largest privately-funded, on-site solar project will create enough renewable energy not only to power the 280,000 square-foot production facility, but will also provide excess energy back to the local area and Commonwealth.
In all, the installation should deliver more than 5,500 metric tons of CO-2 reduction and annual energy savings of at least $400,000.
Rob Kirts, director of global energy and utilities for the proud company, noted the ribbon cutting was about promises made, and promises delivered. Black & Decker wants to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, just seven years away, and a project like this was a massive first step in that direction.
Moving forward, Kirts said there’s been a push to improve compression air systems and shift to LED lighting, both safer-for-the-environment decisions, and there’s already a solar farm of this magnitude planned for a Mississippi facility.
In fact, there are 15 such installations planned in his region, some smaller than others, but all of them with the same goal.
This industry initiative, called EcoSmart, started about seven years ago for Black & Decker. Kirts said it was corporately-funded, and started with a small budget around $100,000 a year.
Now, that budget has ballooned to $24 million in sustainability and electricity relief — which is good news for a company that impacts households more than one would think.
South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council Executive Director Carter Hendricks was one of many part in the ribbon cutting and grounds tour of the facility. He said two concepts were garnered immediately from the visit.
Christian County Judge-Executive Jerry Gilliam said he and his office were more than pleased to see SEF turning to self-sufficiency, and that this was the kind of solar farm that worked for Hopkinsville.
Gilliam added the county’s future need for extra energy only made Black & Decker’s decision more appreciated and prudent.
Stanley Black & Decker first came to Christian County in 1966, and is located at 1915 Pembroke Road near Hopkinsville.
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