US DOE helps finance 8.3 MW of federal PV systems

Sep 23, 2014 - The US Energy Department (DOE) today said it would provide financial support for the installations of around 8.3 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and for other clean energy projects at federal government facilities.

The agency unveiled over USD 3 million (EUR 2.3m) in funding for six renewable energy projects and another USD 2 million for three combined heat and power (CHP) schemes. Together, these projects represent total investment of close to USD 120 million, the DOE said in a statement.

The biggest solar installation to get financing is a 5-MW ground-mounted solar plant on an abandoned landfill, to be installed for the Department of Defense in Kentucky. Also, that same department’s Air National Guard in Westhampton Beach, New York, will be sourcing 48% of its power from a new 1.56-MW rooftop PV array at the Gabreski Airport.

The Department of Justice, on the other hand, will get some funds for 1.5 MW of solar projects at three federal prisons in Sheridan, Oregon; Fairton, New Jersey; and Otisville, New York. Similar solar schemes are planned for 119 other federal prisons at a later stage.

The DOE renewables financing will also be used for smaller solar and some hydropower projects at sites of the Forest Service in California, the Federal Aviation Administration in Georgia and the National Park Service in Virginia and North Carolina.

US federal agencies aim to bring to 20% the share of renewables in their electricity by the end of the decade under a December 2013 Presidential Memorandum. The federal government also aims to improve the energy intensity of its facilities by 30% by 2015 and cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 28% by 2020.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.777)

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