Springfield company wins Downstream Casino solar contract

Springfield-based APC Solar won a contract to add a large-scale solar project at Downstream Casino Resort in Oklahoma.

Shawn Roberts, CEO of the commercial solar company, said casino owner Quapaw Nation of Oklahoma selected APC in a competitive bidding process that involved firms from Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

"We've done a lot of big commercial projects in the Midwest, and that resume helped push us over the edge," Roberts said. "They needed to feel confident that commercial solar is our expertise. We specialize totally and completely in commercial solar."

APC Solar has started work on the first phase of the project, a 1.7-megawatt system with more than 3,500 panels that will cover the casino's roof, he said. A second phase would add carport coverage and electrical vehicle chargers. Officials declined to disclose the cost of the project.

Roberts said APC is finalizing electrical and structural engineering and completing site preparation work with hopes to start paneling in February. The paneling work, he said, would take about 60 days to complete.

The Downtown Casino Resort project is APC's largest to date, Roberts said.

"To our knowledge, it's one of the largest if not the largest privately owned, privately installed solar systems in the Midwest," he said.

Roberts said the solar array at Downstream Casino Resort would equate to the energy production of 1.7 million pounds of coal burned annually and eliminate those associated carbon dioxide emissions. He noted the project would utilize tax credits through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

The Downstream Casino Resort project adds to an APC Solar portfolio that includes the FORVIS building in Springfield, Ballparks of America and Fritz's Adventure in Branson, and Mayse Automotive Group in Aurora.