Gov. Asa Hutchinson presented the first Arkansas Technology Award on Friday to Aerojet Rocketdyne for its solar farm in East Camden.
The solar farm, owned and operated by Silicon Ranch Corp. of Nashville, Tenn., generates enough power to supply 30 percent of the defense contractor’s needs at its Highland Industrial Park facility. It’s the largest operating solar facility in the state, said Becky Keogh, director of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
FTN Associates of Little Rock and Goodwill Industries of Arkansas were also finalists for the award, which is nicknamed “TECHe.”
Keogh said the new award was in line with Hutchinson’s emphasis on computer coding and advanced technology.
During the ceremony, Hutchinson who grew up on a farm, said his dad taught him to respect the environment.
“If you’re going to make your living on the farm, you’ve got to protect the land — and you’ve got to value the land — just a simple, practical, fundamental point,” he said.
Hutchinson said he greatly respected former President Theodore Roosevelt, a conservation proponent who established the U.S. Forest Service and placed millions of acres under federal protection.
The governor also said that the Department of Environmental Quality exists to be responsive to business as well as protect the environment.
He said Keogh has reduced the agency’s size while shrinking an air quality permit backlog by 50 percent.
During Friday’s ceremony, Keogh also presented the Envy Award, also known as the Arkansas Environmental Stewardship Award, to the Kraft Heinz Co. facility at Fort Smith.
She said the plant achieved “zero landfill status” in 2012 by recycling or reusing all waste produced at the plant.