A 3.4 MW solar power system installation has been successfully completed by Borrego Solar Systems at Edwards Air Force Base located in San Diego, California. The system includes three ground-mounted, single-axis tracking solar facilities.
Under the terms of a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), Borrego Solar has financed, developed and deployed the 3.4 MW system at no start-up cost to the U.S. Air Force base. As per the agreement, the solar system installer will sell the generated power to Edwards Air Force Base at fixed and reasonable cost by offsetting an average of 6% of the power consumption in the three facilities. This is the Borrego Solar’s largest military project completed till date and it represents the company’s commitment to continuous solar power installation services for the military sector.
Edwards Air Force Base’ Chief of the Civil Engineer Asset Management Branch, Ms. Amy Frost, stated that solar energy is considered as one of the highly reliable, cost-effective options to minimize their reliance on fossil fuels. The PPA has enabled the Air Force Base to rapidly implement solar in its facility and provide immediate operational savings.
Recently, the Department of the Army has formed the Energy Initiatives Task Force (EITF) to govern the Army’s objective of shifting to 25% renewable energy utilization by 2025. The solar project financing is a major challenge to the military facility managers. Hence, by signing a PPA with Borrego Solar, solar projects can be moved forward and the need for upfront cost investment and long-term maintenance can be eliminated.
Borrego Solar has recently signed a solar installation service contract with the General Services Administration (GSA). In 2012, the company has completed about 1 MW solar installation project at the Point Loma Navy Base in San Diego, California.