FEMP Year in Review 2003 - EERE - U.S. Department of Energy

Renewable Energy Awards
to Organizations
Department of the Navy
Navy Public Works Center
San Diego, California
In this ground-breaking project, the Navy
Region Southwest, in partnership with the Navy
Public Works Center, San Diego, demonstrated
the successful implementation of a large-scale
renewable energy system using alternative
financing. The 750-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV)
system installed at the Naval Base Coronado is
one of the largest PV systems installed by the
federal government, and is among one of the Joyce Ferrenburg, Wade Wilhelm
largest PV systems in the world. Consisting of
3,078 modules with more than 664,000 semicrystalline
silicon solar cells, the Base’s PV system delivers solar electricity to the Navy
electric grid while providing a covered carport structure for more than 400 vehicles.
Designed and installed using Super ESPC financing, the solar electric system is expected
to produce 1.2 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year and save the Base $228,00 annually
in electricity and demand charge expenses. Utility- and state-incentive funds and the
Department of Defense’s commitment to green power together resulted in a system
that will provide about 3 percent of the Naval Base’s peak electrical demand during
summer months. By replacing fossil-fuel-generated electricity with solar power, the
Navy’s PV system is expected to yield an annual energy savings of 4.0 billion Btu.
Renewable Energy Awards to Organizations
U.S. National Park Service
Mojave National Preserve
Barstow, California
The harsh rugged beauty of California’s Mojave
National Preserve is the setting for this renewable
energy project for the Preserve’s Hole-In-The-Wall
Wildland Fire Center. Up to 16 firefighters and
crew are stationed at the Center’s remote (4,500
foot elevation) location to respond to emergencies
in the Preserve’s vast 1.5 million acres of land.
Drawing upon the area’s abundant sunlight and a
desire to protect the natural quiet of the desert,
the National Park Service mobilized to replace the
Center’s outdated modular facility that relied on
diesel power. The newly–constructed fire center
and dormitory is a highly functional, energy-
Mary Martin, Sean McGuinness
efficient, and cost effective structure that
harmoniously blends into the desert landscape. The facility features an 11 kilowatt
hybrid system with 85 thin flexible photovoltaic panels placed on the Center’s roof,
eliminating the expense of a solar panel array frame. Insulation under the roof serves as
an energy-efficient environment for the thermostatically controlled evaporative coolers
located in the attic. Throughout the buildings, energy-efficient windows reduce the
facility’s energy use. In interior spaces without windows, solar light tubes practically
eliminate the need for electrical lighting during the day. A solar-powered radiant floor
heating system prevents the water lines in the fire engine bays from freezing. During
FY 2002, this impressive facility achieved an energy savings of 624 million Btu and a
cost savings of more than $16,000.
29