FORT POLK, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 20, 2025--
Corvias, a trusted infrastructure and resiliency partner to the military and higher education, in collaboration with CRC Innovations and Onyx Renewables, announced the successful completion of a 13-megawatt (MW) power generation project Aug. 5 at U.S. Army Garrison Fort Polk, La. This initiative was developed in support of the Department of Defense’s goal to achieve energy resilience and combat readiness, which calls for a significant reduction in installation energy use by 2035.
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The 13-MW power generation installation at Fort Polk is expected to generate approximately 17,537 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually, meeting the electricity needs for 42% of the on-base housing – nearly 1,800 military homes – in its first year of operation. This complements existing energy upgrades at Fort Polk, such as extensive geothermal installations and water-saving devices, which have already delivered over $1 million in annual savings since 2018. This latest investment dedicates $29.2 million towards energy generation, with a total energy upgrade investment of nearly $63 million.
The completion of the project was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and virtual roundtable, both held at Fort Polk. The roundtable included panelists from Corvias at CRC Innovations, who discussed this latest Army-Corvias milestone, and larger initiatives to bolster energy security, independence, and mission readiness on installations.
“This is one of the largest solar fields in the military housing portfolio, so we are quite proud of that,” said Denise Hauck, President of DOD at Corvias, during the roundtable discussion. “Our Army partner’s goal is to be combat-ready through localized, secure, and independent power generation. What we are doing here today will help them move forward in achieving that.”
Bartosz Wojszczyk, President of CRC Innovations, added, “Energy is a strategic imperative to the DOD and the U.S. Army. We are focused on supporting our Army partners through Corvias in delivering energy resiliency infrastructure both on the power generation side and in the overall energy space. The objective is to improve the resiliency of the installation, and to also provide reliable, affordable, and efficient electricity to military families that live on the installations.”
Corvias plans to expand the energy generation capacity by an additional 15-18 MW during the next phase, aiming to achieve 100% renewable electricity use for housing. The on-site power generation is planned to be integrated into future microgrid projects to ensure a continuous power supply during outages.
To learn more about how Corvias and CRC Innovations are advancing Army energy resilience, visit www.corvias.com.
About Corvias
Corvias partners with the Department of Defense and higher education institutions to solve infrastructure and energy resiliency challenges and to create long-term, sustainable value through our unique Solutions Through Partnerships ® approach. Corvias partnerships enhance the well-being in our communities, including at the largest renewable energy project in Kansas and at resiliency projects nationwide. Our more than 72,000 residents consistently highly rank the courtesy and professionalism of our maintenance and leasing personnel. To learn more, please visit: www.corvias.com.
About CRC Innovations
CRC Innovations is focused on transforming mission critical energy infrastructure. We collaborate to strengthen community resilience through innovative solutions spanning energy efficiency, renewable generation, distribution, and storage. Our distinctive approach modernizes core infrastructure by unlocking alternative funding and reducing risk for military housing communities, the Department of Defense, and utility partners. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, we create future proof energy ecosystems that enhance mission capabilities and ensure security. Our commitment is to be a trusted resilience partner, delivering customized solutions that create enduring value and improve quality of life. For more information, visit www.crcinnovations.com.
About Onyx Renewables
Onyx Renewables is helping companies create the bridge from today’s clean energy reality to tomorrow’s possibilities by innovating projects that deliver immediate economic savings and sustainability for our commercial, industrial, institutional, and military customers. A leading provider of localized clean energy solutions nationwide, Onyx leverages its wide-ranging industry expertise to develop, finance, construct, own and operate projects. From solar energy to battery storage and beyond, Onyx transforms energy and regulatory complexities into tangible results, delivering best-in-class, quality solutions to promote a sustainable, affordable future for the next generation. Onyx also partners with developers and EPCs to support, fund, and acquire clean energy projects.
(Left to right) Kevin Cox, Onyx Renewables Senior Vice President, Origination; Jeffrey Rodgers, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Polk Installation Energy Manager; Scott Pogue, USAG Fort Polk Resource Efficiency Manager; Angie Daoud, Onyx Renewables Chief Operating Officer; Pablo Varela, CRC Innovations Executive Vice President, Energy Asset Management; Brig. Gen. Jason Curl, Commanding General, Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk; Col. J. Adam Barlow, USAG Commander JRTC and Fort Polk; Chris Wilson, Corvias Chief Executive Officer; Denise Hauck, Corvias Department of Defense President; and, Bartosz Wojszczyk, CRC Innovations President, mark the successful completion of a 13-megawatt (MW) power generation project Aug. 5 at Fort Polk, La., with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Federal immigration agents deployed to Minneapolis have used aggressive crowd-control tactics that have become a dominant concern in the aftermath of the deadly shooting of a woman in her car last week.
They have pointed rifles at demonstrators and deployed chemical irritants early in confrontations. They have broken vehicle windows and pulled occupants from cars. They have scuffled with protesters and shoved them to the ground.
The government says the actions are necessary to protect officers from violent attacks. The encounters in turn have riled up protesters even more, especially as videos of the incidents are shared widely on social media.
What is unfolding in Minneapolis reflects a broader shift in how the federal government is asserting its authority during protests, relying on immigration agents and investigators to perform crowd-management roles traditionally handled by local police who often have more training in public order tactics and de-escalating large crowds.
Experts warn the approach runs counter to de-escalation standards and risks turning volatile demonstrations into deadly encounters.
The confrontations come amid a major immigration enforcement surge ordered by the Trump administration in early December, which sent more than 2,000 officers from across the Department of Homeland Security into the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Many of the officers involved are typically tasked with arrests, deportations and criminal investigations, not managing volatile public demonstrations.
Tensions escalated after the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old woman killed by an immigration agent last week, an incident federal officials have defended as self-defense after they say Good weaponized her vehicle.
The killing has intensified protests and scrutiny of the federal response.
On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota asked a federal judge to intervene, filing a lawsuit on behalf of six residents seeking an emergency injunction to limit how federal agents operate during protests, including restrictions on the use of chemical agents, the pointing of firearms at non-threatening individuals and interference with lawful video recording.
“There’s so much about what’s happening now that is not a traditional approach to immigration apprehensions,” said former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldaña.
Saldaña, who left the post at the beginning of 2017 as President Donald Trump's first term began, said she can't speak to how the agency currently trains its officers. When she was director, she said officers received training on how to interact with people who might be observing an apprehension or filming officers, but agents rarely had to deal with crowds or protests.
“This is different. You would hope that the agency would be responsive given the evolution of what’s happening — brought on, mind you, by the aggressive approach that has been taken coming from the top,” she said.
Ian Adams, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, said the majority of crowd-management or protest training in policing happens at the local level — usually at larger police departments that have public order units.
“It’s highly unlikely that your typical ICE agent has a great deal of experience with public order tactics or control,” Adams said.
DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a written statement that ICE officer candidates receive extensive training over eight weeks in courses that include conflict management and de-escalation. She said many of the candidates are military veterans and about 85% have previous law enforcement experience.
“All ICE candidates are subject to months of rigorous training and selection at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, where they are trained in everything from de-escalation tactics to firearms to driving training. Homeland Security Investigations candidates receive more than 100 days of specialized training," she said.
Ed Maguire, a criminology professor at Arizona State University, has written extensively about crowd-management and protest- related law enforcement training. He said while he hasn't seen the current training curriculum for ICE officers, he has reviewed recent training materials for federal officers and called it “horrifying.”
Maguire said what he's seeing in Minneapolis feels like a perfect storm for bad consequences.
“You can't even say this doesn't meet best practices. That's too high a bar. These don't seem to meet generally accepted practices,” he said.
“We’re seeing routinely substandard law enforcement practices that would just never be accepted at the local level,” he added. “Then there seems to be just an absence of standard accountability practices.”
Adams noted that police department practices have "evolved to understand that the sort of 1950s and 1960s instinct to meet every protest with force, has blowback effects that actually make the disorder worse.”
He said police departments now try to open communication with organizers, set boundaries and sometimes even show deference within reason. There's an understanding that inside of a crowd, using unnecessary force can have a domino effect that might cause escalation from protesters and from officers.
Despite training for officers responding to civil unrest dramatically shifting over the last four decades, there is no nationwide standard of best practices. For example, some departments bar officers from spraying pepper spray directly into the face of people exercising Constitutional speech. Others bar the use of tear gas or other chemical agents in residential neighborhoods.
Regardless of the specifics, experts recommend that departments have written policies they review regularly.
“Organizations and agencies aren’t always familiar with what their own policies are,” said Humberto Cardounel, senior director of training and technical assistance at the National Policing Institute.
“They go through it once in basic training then expect (officers) to know how to comport themselves two years later, five years later," he said. "We encourage them to understand and know their training, but also to simulate their training.”
Adams said part of the reason local officers are the best option for performing public order tasks is they have a compact with the community.
“I think at the heart of this is the challenge of calling what ICE is doing even policing,” he said.
"Police agencies have a relationship with their community that extends before and after any incidents. Officers know we will be here no matter what happens, and the community knows regardless of what happens today, these officers will be here tomorrow.”
Saldaña noted that both sides have increased their aggression.
“You cannot put yourself in front of an armed officer, you cannot put your hands on them certainly. That is impeding law enforcement actions,” she said.
“At this point, I’m getting concerned on both sides — the aggression from law enforcement and the increasingly aggressive behavior from protesters.”
Law enforcement officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People cover tear gas deployed by federal immigration officers outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A man is pushed to the ground as federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A woman covers her face from tear gas as federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
