US army engineers have finished installing thousands of solar panels at the largest solar photovoltaic power plant in the country covering 42 acres.

The solar project at the White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico will be able to provide more than four megawatts of electricity to the base, which is estimated will save $930,010 in energy bills a year.

Michael Norton, Huntsville Centre Energy Division chief said: “Projects like this are important because the impact of rising energy prices on installations has resulted in an adverse increase of utility budgets spent on existing, often inefficient or outdated equipment.”

Getting involved in energy projects is nothing new for the US Army Corps of Engineers, as they own and operate 24% of the USA’s hydropower capacity – which makes up 3% of the States’ total electric capacity.