Utah’s largest photovoltaic (PV) solar panel farm was switched on and activated last June 25 in one of the US’s major air force bases, Hill Air Force Base. The 22-array system, composed of 48 panels per array, has a peak load of 220 kilowatts, enough to power 25 homes annually.

More funding, which may be granted to Hill Air Force Base in the future, will allow more panels to be added to the system. The current site of the system in Wardleigh Road has room for expansion of up to one megawatt.

Power generated by the system will be fed directly to the base’s electrical grid system. Apart from benefiting tenants, the solar power fed into the grid will also offset the energy used by the base’s normal electricity supplier, Rocky Mountain Power.

The solar project started two years ago, when project insurer Ameresco teamed up with Hill Air Force Base. The solar panels manufactured by BP Solar were then constructed into arrays by Gardner Engineering within six months.

The project was awarded through a Department of Energy (DOE) contract that aims to provide the base with “inexpensive, reliable and renewable energy.”

Ameresco is an energy solutions company, which has been working with Hill Air Force Base on energy solutions for six years now. BP Solar, one of the largest integrated energy companies in the world, specializes in the design, manufacture, and marketing of PV solar cells and modules. Gardner Engineering, an engineering and surveying services provider based in Ogden, Utah, also engages in PV systems installation.


- Jen Balboa

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Sources:

¹ http://www.hill.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123157232
² http://www.ameresco.com/