The USA’s Largest Solar Panel Based Solar Farm

Earlier this week, Barack Obama drew attention to the largest solar panel based solar farm in the USA.

Earlier this week, Barack Obama drew attention to the largest solar panel based solar farm in the USA, and in the Western hemisphere for that matter. It’s not a project built by one of the major US electricity utilities, nor is it particularly new – it’s been in operation since 2007.
 
The farm is  located at Nellis Air Force Base. The United States Air Force is the largest consumer of energy in the federal government; chomping through nearly USD $4 million in electricity annually. In the fiscal year 2005, prior to the farm’s construction, the Air Force purchased over 40% (> one billion kilowatt hours) of the federal government total for renewable power. Each US Department of Defence component has been directed to aggressively expand use of renewable energy to a total of 25% by the year 2025.
 
Over 72,000 solar panels were placed on 140 acres of land near the base that was previously an landfill site. The solar farm provides 25 percent of the electricity needs for for the 12,000 people who live and work at the base, generating up to18 megawatts direct current that is transformed into 13.5 megawatts alternating current.
 
The project took about 6 months to complete and created 200 jobs. According to a statement given at the base by President Obama, the project reduces carbon pollution by 24,000 tons per year, which is the equivalent of removing 4,000 cars from US roads. 
 
President Obama also used the occasion to reaffirm a commitment to renewable energy, saying that a new nation-wide solar energy technologies program will help replicate the success of the Nellis project in cities and states across the USA. President Obama has promised to invest in the development and deployment of solar power "wherever it can thrive".

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