SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 02, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD), announced today that it received the inaugural Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) TECHe Award from Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Department of Environmental Quality Director Becky Keogh during a ceremony on Earth Day.
“This award is a win for the environment and the State of Arkansas,” said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. “Credit goes to the Arkansas industry for coming together in support of an Aerojet Rocketdyne vision. I want to thank the outstanding collaboration of Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, Silicon Ranch Corporation, Southern Arkansas University Tech, Ouachita Electric Cooperative Corporation and Highland Industrial Park, Inc. for achieving this honor.”
“It is a pleasure to be the first recipient of this environmental award created by Department of Environmental Quality Director Keogh at the request of Gov. Hutchinson,” said Chris Conley, vice president of Safety, Health and Environment at Aerojet Rocketdyne.
The TECHe award honors advances or innovative use of technology that break new ground in protecting resources or improving the environment by going beyond traditional environmental control measures, approaches or outcomes.
“Technology adoption is often the hardest part of innovation,” said Jack Rockstad, site lead at Aerojet Rocketdyne’s Camden, Arkansas, facility. “The 12-megawatt solar farm has broken down the social and political barriers required for the adoption of large-scale clean renewable energy in Arkansas.”
The Aerojet Rocketdyne solar farm is located at the Highland Industrial Business Park in East Camden, Arkansas, and is the largest operating solar field in the state. It was completed in late 2015 and consists of more than 151,000 domestically-produced solar panels that will produce more than 30 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. It is capable of generating enough electricity to power the equivalent of 2,400 single-family homes.
Immediately following the TECHe presentation in the Governor’s Reception Room at the State Capitol, the team was escorted to the Arkansas Senate Chamber and issued an official Earth Day Arkansas Senate Citation by Arkansas Sen. Bobby Pierce memorializing the solar farm and the accomplishments of the team.
Aerojet Rocketdyne is an innovative company delivering solutions that create value for its customers in the aerospace and defense markets. The company is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader that provides propulsion and energetics to the space, missile defense and strategic systems, tactical systems and armaments areas, in support of domestic and international markets. Additional information about Aerojet Rocketdyne can be obtained by visiting our websites at www.Rocket.com and www.AerojetRocketdyne.com.