The Department of Defense is calling the new 20 megawatt photovoltaic farm that’s set to begin construction shortly at Fort Bliss in Texas, the largest single renewable energy project at any U.S. military installation. When completed it will be the third PV installation at the site and a fourth installation may already be in the works. It’s just the latest step for a base that plans to generate all of its own electricity onsite. The array will power Fort Bliss’ division headquarters and most of its eastern sector, according to the Department of Defense’s news service.

Last week Army Major General Dana Pittard said that the Army Corps of Engineers cleared El Paso Electric to start work on the solar farm. It also marks the first time the military partnered with a local utility on a utility-scale renewable energy project.

The array is part of the 1,700 square mile military base’s more ambitious plans to become a net-zero energy facility. It’s also part of a larger effort at the installation to reduce energy use and increase recycling, and improve the local environment, according to the news service. The base has also been promoting a culture that encourages energy conservation, according to Army Major General Dana Pittard. “We hope our soldiers will then take with them when they go on to other installations and move into society throughout the county,” he said.

“This is the largest solar project at any installation to date in the Defense Department. We are very, very proud of that,” Pittard said at a conference about the project. “It is exciting to be leading the American military in renewable energy, and reducing our carbon footprint.”

Fort Bliss anticipates that the PV farm will be completed in 2015, when it will join the base’s 1.4 megawatt PV array and the 13.4 megawatts of PV on base housing that’s being installed by SolarCity as part of the SolarStrong program to solarize military housing across US bases. The base is already in talks with the utility for another 20 megawatt array. The base is also considering using waste to generate electricity as well as looking into wind and geothermal.

The projects at Fort Bliss are part of the Army’s bigger goals to add in 1 gigawatt of renewable energy. In fact, each branch of the Armed Forces has committed to adding at least 1 gigawatt of renewable energy in an attempt to promote energy security.