• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

New one-megawatt solar array at Heritage Center can power 133 homes

Posted at 1:08 pm April 13, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Powerhouse Six Solar Array Ribbon-cutting April 9, 2015

Company executives and city and federal officials celebrate a new one-megawatt solar array at Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge on Thursday with a ceremonial “plugging in.”

 

A new one-megawatt solar array at the Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge will provide enough clean energy to power 133 average-size homes per year, officials said.

Company and nonprofit executives joined city and federal officials for a ceremonial “plugging in” of the new Powerhouse Six photovoltaic solar array on Thursday.

The $1.8 million array has 3,268 solar modules, and it will be used to sell electric power to the Tennessee Valley Authority through the Oak Ridge Electric Department.

“We’re going live today,” said Gil Hough, renewable energy manager for RSI, or Restoration Services Inc., the Oak Ridge-based company that developed the array. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Brightfield One, Brightfield One Solar Array, Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, CROET, DOE, Earth Day, Eastbridge Business Park, Generation Partners, Gil Hough, Green Power Community of the Year, Heritage Center, K-25, LightWave Solar Inc., Oak Ridge Electric Department, Paul Clay, photovoltaic solar array, Plateau Partnership Park, Powerhouse Six, Powerhouse Six array, Renewable Standard Offer Solar Solutions Initiative, Restoration Services Inc., RSI, solar array, Steve Johnson, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, UCOR, Valley Sustainable Communities, Vis Solis, Vis Solis LLC, Warren Gooch

Earth Day Festival is April 25 at A.K. Bissell Park

Posted at 10:39 am April 10, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Earth Day

Pictured above is a special recycling event at Earth Day Festival.

Keep Anderson County Beautiful will host the eighth annual Earth Day festival in Oak Ridge on Saturday, April 25, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at A.K. Bissell Park.

East Tennessee residents living in or around Oak Ridge are invited to participate in the festival, organizers said. It features free activities and events that promote healthy living and environmental education, and that encourage individuals to create and contribute to a sustainable community.

Sponsored in major part by KACB and Leidos, Earth Day will feature outdoor games for children, music, healthy food vendors, exhibitors showcasing educational booths, an on-site scavenger hunt, and neighborhood games such as hopscotch, bocce, croquet, flying discs, ladder ball and a special reduce, reuse, recycle game. There will be a special area for preschool children. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Entertainment, Front Page News, Meetings and Events, Top Stories Tagged With: A.K. Bissell Park, Earth Day, Earth Day 2015, Earth Day Festival, environmental educaiton, Erase your Trace, KACB, Keep Anderson County Beautiful, Oak Ridge Civic Center, Pat Imperato, recycling, sustainable community

Keep Anderson County Beautiful announces Earth Day collection numbers

Posted at 10:10 am June 8, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Keep Anderson County Beautiful Check Presentation

Pat Imperato, left, vice chair of Keep Anderson County Beautiful, presents a check for $150 to Sister Marie Blanchette and some seventh-grade students from St. Mary’s School for contributing the most number of shoes per student as part of the recent community shoe drive. (Submitted photo)

Keep Anderson County Beautiful has announced the total amount of materials collected, including electronics and shoes, during the recent 2014 Earth Day Festival in Oak Ridge.

“This is one of the best Earth Days that we have had in terms of materials collected and diverted from our landfill through recycling,” said Pam Turner, KACB president. “The community really embraced the meaning of Earth Day while enjoying a beautiful day in the outdoors playing old-fashioned neighborhood games.”

More than 36 volunteers helped to put on the event, which collected 7,531 pounds of electronics, 5,400 pounds of personal documents for shredding, 3,100 pairs of shoes, 540 pounds of books, 108 pairs of eye glasses, and 56 pounds of blankets and towels for the animal shelter. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Front Page News, Nonprofits Tagged With: Anderson County, Earth Day, Earth Day Festival, electronics, Jacobs Engineering, KACB, Karns Methodist Church, Keep Anderson County Beautiful, Mary Saethre, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Pam Turner, Pat Imperato, shoe drive, shoes, St. Mary's Church, St. Mary’s School

ORAU employees recycle about 10,000 pounds of ‘technotrash,’ paper, shoes

Posted at 10:09 am April 25, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

ORAU Earth Day

Annabel Fontaine shows off her ORAU Earth Day event T-shirt; the first 75 employees to participate in this event received one of these shirts. (Submitted photos)

For the fifth year in a row, Oak Ridge Associated Universities coordinated an annual event in conjunction with Earth Day to encourage ORAU’s 1,100 employees to bring in unwanted items from home to recycle, a press release said.

As part of this year’s two-day event on April 22-23, ORAU accepted a total of almost 10,000 pounds of technotrash (computers, related accessories, or other electronic items), paper for secure shredding, unwanted medicine as part of Operation Medicine Cabinet in collaboration with the Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention and the Oak Ridge Police Department, and 414 pairs of “gently used” shoes to donate to those in need through the Soles4Souls nonprofit organization, the release said.

“ORAU’s Earth Day event has grown each year since its start in 2010 as many employees use it as a spring cleaning ritual; this event not only helps the environment by recycling unwanted items and those in need with the donation of shoes, it keeps unwanted medicine out of the hands of children or drug abusers with Operation Medicine Cabinet, which was a new element to this year’s event,” said Tom Wantland, ORAU’s director of Environment, Safety, and Health. “Employee feedback shows that employees want to recycle, because it is the right thing to do; as an added incentive, ORAU provides T-shirts to the first 75 employees who participate in the event.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention, Earth Day, environment safety and health, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge Police Department, Operation Medicine Cabinet, ORAU, paper, recycle, shoes, Soles4Souls, technotrash, Tom Wantland

Earth Day to feature free activities, events for healthy living, environmental education

Posted at 7:41 pm April 14, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

IJAMS Earth Day 2009

The IJAMS Nature Center booth is pictured above during Earth Day 2009. (File photo)

The seventh annual Earth Day festival will feature free activities and events that promote healthy living and environmental education, and encourage individuals to create and contribute to a sustainable community, a press release said.

The festival is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 26 at Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge.

It’s hosted by Keep Anderson County Beautiful.

There will be a Trashformations art exhibit created by local area students made from recycled/found materials. There will also be outdoor games and races for children, a bike rodeo for kids, healthy food vendors, exhibitors showcasing educational booths, and neighborhood games such as hopscotch, bocce, croquet, flying discs, ladder ball, and a special reduce, reuse, recycle game. There will also be a special area for pre-school children. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Alvin K. Bissell Park, Bike Rodeo, Earth Day, Earth Day 2014, environmental education, games, Healthy Living, KACB, Keep Anderson County Beautiful, Oak Ridge, Pat Imperato, races, recycling, sustainable community

Drop off unused medication on Saturday

Posted at 11:54 pm April 23, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

There are currently few safe and convenient ways for consumers to dispose of unused prescription drugs, but on Saturday at the Earth Day Festival, the community will be able to drop off unused prescription medication, a press release said.

Nearly all unused pharmaceuticals enter either our solid waste system or sewage system. Neither disposal method is environmentally sound. These medications, when flushed down the toilet, pass through our sewage treatment plants, which are generally not designed to screen for these chemicals, the press release said. Pharmaceuticals discarded in landfills can seep into the surrounding groundwater table. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Health, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, Clinton Police Department, Earth Day, Food City, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oliver Springs Police Department, Operation Medicine Cabinet, pharmaceuticals, prescription drugs, prescription medication

Search Oak Ridge Today

Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Recent Posts

  • Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival Announces 2025 Storytellers
  • Laser-Engraved Bricks Will Line Walkway of New Chamber Headquarters
  • Democratic Women’s Club to Discuss Climate Change, Energy and Policy
  • Estate Jewelry Show at Karen’s Jewelers Features Celebrity Jewelry
  • Keri Cagle named new ORAU senior vice president and ORISE director
  • ORAU Annual Giving Campaign exceeds $100,000 goal+ORAU Annual Giving Campaign exceeds $100,000 goal More than $1 million raised in past 10 years benefits United Way and Community Shares Oak Ridge, Tenn. —ORAU exceeded its goal of raising $100,000 in donations as part of its internal annual giving campaign that benefits the United Way and Community Shares nonprofit organizations. ORAU has raised more than $1 million over the past 10 years through this campaign. A total of $126,839 was pledged during the 2024 ORAU Annual Giving Campaign. Employees donate via payroll deduction and could earmark their donation for United Way, Community Shares or both. “ORAU has remained a strong pillar in the community for more than 75 years, and we encourage our employees to consider participating in our annual giving campaign each year to help our less fortunate neighbors in need,” said ORAU President and CEO Andy Page. “Each one of our employees has the power to positively impact the lives of those who need help in the communities where we do business across the country and demonstrate the ORAU way – taking care of each other.” ORAU, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, provides science, health and workforce solutions that address national priorities and serve the public interest. Through our specialized teams of experts and access to a consortium of more than 150 major Ph.D.-granting institutions, ORAU works with federal, state, local and commercial customers to provide innovative scientific and technical solutions and help advance their missions. ORAU manages the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Learn more about ORAU at www.orau.org. Learn more about ORAU at www.orau.org. Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OakRidgeAssociatedUniversities Follow us on X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/orau Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/orau ###
  • Children’s Museum Gala Celebrates the Rainforest
  • Jim Sears joins ORAU as senior vice president
  • Oak Ridge Housing Authority Receives Funding Assistance of up to $51.8 Million For Renovating Public Housing and Building New Workforce Housing
  • Two fires reported early Friday

Recent Comments

  • Raymond Mitchell on City manager’s ‘State of the City’ canceled due to weather
  • Raymond Mitchell on City manager’s ‘State of the City’ canceled due to weather
  • Mysti M Desilva on Crews clearing roads, repairing water line breaks
  • Mel Schuster on Crews clearing roads, repairing water line breaks
  • Cecil King on Crews clearing roads, repairing water line breaks
  • Rick Morrow on Roads, schools, businesses closed after heavy snow
  • Diana lively on Free community Thanksgiving Dinner on Nov. 25
  • Anne Garcia on School bus driver arrested following alleged assault on elementary student
  • Raymond Dickover on Blockhouse Valley Recycling Center now open 6 days per week
  • Mike Mahathy on School bus driver arrested following alleged assault on elementary student

Copyright © 2025 Oak Ridge Today