Navy Awards $200 Million for 40 MW of Solar Power on Southwestern Bases
DOE Guarantees $189 Million in Loans for Wind Power, Advanced Windows
Report Emphasizes Need to Reduce U.S. Consumption of Petroleum
USDA Guarantees an $80 Million Loan to a Georgia Biorefinery
Recovery Act Funds 191 New Transit Projects in 42 States, Puerto Rico
Geneva Motor Show Spotlights Plug-Ins, Electric Vehicles, and Hybrids
Navy Awards $200M for 40 MW of Solar
The U.S. Navy awarded a $200 million contract in February to construct up to 40 MW of solar PV plants at Navy and Marine Corps facilities throughout the Southwestern U.S.
The Navy chose five solar companies to compete for individual projects, which will range from 1 to 15 MW. The five companies are: SunEdison, AECOM Energy/Solar Power Partners, SunPower Corp, SunDurance Energy, and Chevron Energy Solutions. They will construct, own, operate, and maintain the systems, selling the power to the Navy and Marine Corps through power purchase agreements.
The new solar projects will help the Navy achieve its goal to produce at least 50% of its shore-based energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. See the U.S. Navy press release.
Most federal agencies are now exploring the use of renewable energy at their facilities. For instance, the National Park Service (NPS) is installing a solar system on Alcatraz Island, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, to replace the island's existing diesel-generated power. The NPS is funding this and 65 other high-priority projects using $138 million in Recovery Act funds, freed up when other projects came in at lower cost or were cancelled.
The NPS is also drawing on Recovery Act funds for solar projects at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Mojave National Preserve, Point Reyes National Seashore, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, all located in California; at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado; at Everglades National Park and Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida; at Cumberland Island National Seashore and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Georgia; at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho; at the Adams and Lowell National Historical Parks in Massachusetts; at Sleepy Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan; at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area and Mount Rainer National Park in Washington; and at the American Memorial Park in the Northern Mariana Islands.
The NPS Recovery Act projects also include the addition of wind turbines at the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Alaska and at the Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts. In addition, various energy efficiency improvements, such as new insulated windows and heating system upgrades, are slated for 23 NPS facilities in 19 states, including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Jersey, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, and Washington.
The NPS will also boost clean transportation in California's Yosemite National Park, which will get two hybrid electric buses, while Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts will buy two alternative-fuel trams and trailers. See the NPS press release and the complete NPS Recovery Act project list (PDF 160 KB).
DOE Guarantees $189M in Loans for Wind Power, Advanced Windows
On March 5, DOE offered two conditional loan guarantees for clean energy projects: a $117 million using Recovery Act funds for First Wind to finance the construction and start-up of an innovative 30 MW project in Kahuku, Hawaii, and $72 million to Sage Electrochromics for an addition to its factory in Faribault, Minnesota, that manufactures electronically tintable windows. See the DOE fact sheet on its loan programs.
