solar power plant to be used in Arizona
35 percent of the electricity needs in Arizona’s military base will be fulfilled by the new installation. The U.S. Air Force is planning to use 25% more renewable electricity by 2025.
California’s SunEdison and MIC Solar Energy Holdings are the companies responsible for completing the 16.4 MW PV plant situated in the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base outside Tucson in Arizona.
The project represents the largest solar power plant in the U.S. Department of Defense installation and is said to diminish the Air Force’s utility costs by $500,000 per year in the upcoming 25 years.
“This project was very rewarding for our team because we are helping save our fellow taxpayers’ money. The Air Force, like other branches of the armed forces, is a perfect candidate for solar power because they have high electricity demands and often have large plots of underutilized land,” is the opinion of Bob Powell, SunEdison president of North America.”
SunEdison views the project as doable because of a public-private alliance between Davis-Monthan AFB, SunEdison, the North American Development Bank (NADB), MIC Solar Energy, Chevron Energy Solutions and local officials.
A subsidiary of Macquarie Infrastructure Company, MIC Solar Energy , specializes in framework contributions and took over the project. The SunEdison Renewable Operation Center (ROC), that supplies asset management, monitoring and reporting services, all day every day will administer plant operations with the help of a contract with MIC Solar Energy.
The plant is made to supply 35 percent of the base’s electricity needs and can provide the necessary electricity for 5,173 houses. As the biggest consumer of energy in the federal government, the Air Force is planning to bring up the use of green energy.