From solar powered-battle packs rucksacks and tent kits, to home solar energy for military housing, it seems the U.S. Defence Force is fighting hard in the battle for energy independence.
The Navy is the latest arm of the DoD to make the switch to solar power as part of its aspiration to meet a target of generating 50 percent of all shore-bound power from renewable energy sources by 2020.
Construction has begun on a 13.8 megawatt (MW) solar power plant at the California’s Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake base. The facility is the Navy’s largest single landholding, representing 85 percent of the Navy’s land for research, development, acquisition, testing and evaluation of weapons systems.
Under the terms of the 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with solar manufacturer SunPower Corporation, the company will supply a SunPower Oasis Power Plant to be hosted on the base. SunPower Oasis is a fully-integrated, modular solar block consisting of 31,680 solar panels, enough to supply more than 30 percent of NAWS China Lake’s annual electricity needs.
It will be the first ever 20-year PPA entered into by a federal agency, and the duration of the agreement allows the Navy to buy electricity at up to 30 percent below the rate available through shorter duration 10-year PPAs.
“The weapons division here is the consumer, and with that consumption requirement comes responsibility,” says Rear Admiral Mat Winter. “This project gives us the opportunity as the major consumer of the energy to look into our own processes and practices.”
The Oasis solar plant is a pre-assembled unit consisting of sun-tracking systems and high-efficiency E20 solar panels.
Construction of the facility at NAWS China Lake is expected to create 140 construction jobs. SunPower will provide staff to operate and maintain the plant when it is completed at the end of this year.
SunPower has a solid service record when it comes to providing solar to the DoD, with SunPower solar farms operational at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, Pearl Harbor, Fort Dix, Coronado Island and the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
