As of Jan. 8 of this year, Vandenberg Air Force Base will receive about a third of its power (over the next 25 years) via solar energy. On April 10, the base held a dedication ceremony for the 65,000 panel, 129-acre solar array.
“This is a really big event for the base, and for the community as well,” said Col. Gregory Wood, 30th Space Wing vice commander. “This solar farm represents a partnership and ability for us to explore renewable and clean energy for the base. What you see around you is capable of providing one third of all the power to this installation, which happens to be the third largest Air Force base that we have, so that is a significant accomplishment. It speaks volumes for all the hard work that went into making this happen.”
The arrays were installed by SunPower beginning in May 2017. In a statement released at that time, the company said the panels will provide “a projected 54,500 megawatt hours of energy annually, meeting about 35 percent of Vandenberg’s total energy needs.”
SunPower has designed and installed solar power systems at dozens of federal government facilities. Projects include a 13.2-megawatt and a 15-megawatt installation at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada—operating since 2007 and 2016 respectively—as well as a 13.78-megawatt installation at NAWS China Lake in California—operating since 2012.
“We understand the importance of energy when it comes to military operations and a need for a reliable and resilient power on a military installation,” said Frank Rechner, deputy director of supplier operations for Defense Logistics Agency Energy. “We are well aware that energy diversification is key both in operational and facility environments.”
Mark Correll, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for environment, safety, and infrastructure stated that the Air Force was focused on three things in terms of energy.
“First and foremost is resiliency,” Correll said. “If we were to be separated from the power grid in some way, shape or form, how would we be able to recover from that to continue our mission? Power systems like this provide that kind of resilience.”
Correll added that cost and renewable energy were the other two primary areas.
“It’s not all about saving money,” he said. “It’s all about resiliency, but at the same time we can’t just pay whatever it takes to make that happen.”
This article appears in Apr 19-26, 2018.