Marine Corps Builds Huge Solar Station on Landfill
Source: Cooler Planet, Nate Lew (3/14/11)
"System to save U.S. Navy $336,000 per year."
The U.S. Marine Corps recently completed construction of a massive solar installation on a base in San Diego, California, the largest it has ever built.
Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California, is now the site of a massive 1.4-megawatt solar generation system built atop an unused landfill, according to a report from Techcrunch. The project cost the Marine Corps about $9.4 million, but will also save it roughly $336,000 a year in electrical expenses. The system is large enough to power 400 average homes, and triples the Marine Corps' solar capacity.
The U.S. Department of Defense recently set a goal to produce 25 percent of its electrical needs from renewable sources by 2025, the report said. Currently, it spends more than $1.3 billion on energy costs for every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil.
Many government organizations are moving toward solar power generation these days because of President Barack Obama's recent mandate that a large percentage of American power be produced by renewable sources within the next several decades.
Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California, is now the site of a massive 1.4-megawatt solar generation system built atop an unused landfill, according to a report from Techcrunch. The project cost the Marine Corps about $9.4 million, but will also save it roughly $336,000 a year in electrical expenses. The system is large enough to power 400 average homes, and triples the Marine Corps' solar capacity.
The U.S. Department of Defense recently set a goal to produce 25 percent of its electrical needs from renewable sources by 2025, the report said. Currently, it spends more than $1.3 billion on energy costs for every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil.
Many government organizations are moving toward solar power generation these days because of President Barack Obama's recent mandate that a large percentage of American power be produced by renewable sources within the next several decades.