US Navy completes USD-1.9m solar facility in California

(ADPnews) - Sep 27, 2010 - The US Navy has completed the installation of a 190-kW solar facility worth USD 1.9 million (EUR 1.4m) at its car park in Seal Beach, California.

Financing for the project has come from the US government's stimulus programmes. The facility, constructed by contractor Stronghold Engineering, includes 812 modules of 235 W each which will generate 265,300 kWh annually. The output of the installation is enough to power 15 homes and will save the annual amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by 33 cars.

That is Stronghold's third such Navy deal at Seal Beach. Combined, the three solar facilities consist of more than 2,000 panels and cover about 6.5% of the parking lot's total power consumption. They bring the Navy closer to its goal under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 of having 7.5% of its total power consumption coming from renewable sources.

In April, the Navy announced it planned green power to cover half of its electricity needs at sea and onshore by 2020. In line with that plan it is also working on several marine energy and biofuel projects.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.742)

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