PEARL HARBOR — Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawai‘i completed its final inspection on Sept. 20 for a photovoltaic (PV) system at Pacific Missile Range Facility, which is expected to generate 760 kilowatts of continuous power during the day when it
PEARL HARBOR — Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawai‘i completed its final inspection on Sept. 20 for a photovoltaic (PV) system at Pacific Missile Range Facility, which is expected to generate 760 kilowatts of continuous power during the day when it is fully online.
This sustainable energy initiative will assist PMRF in its efforts to reduce our use of fossil fuels and ultimately lower our energy costs,” said Capt. Nicholas Mongillo, commanding officer PMRF. “We are excited to be close to turning on some of our newly installed PV which will move us toward our goal of completely supplying our hotel load needs with alternative energy and to comply with green energy mandates from the Department of Defense and Secretary of the Navy.”
NAVFAC Hawai‘i awarded SuMo-Nan, an O‘ahu-based joint venture, a $6.7 million contract in December 2009 to design, furnish and install PV systems on building roofs at PMRF. This project is part of the Navy in Hawai‘i’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act efforts.
Installation began on the Navy Exchange with the concurrent replacement of the building’s roof. A total of 460 thin-film PV modules were mounted on new metal roofing panels prior to their placement on the building in July 2010.
The contractor then installed 3,214 polycrystalline PV panels on other PMRF buildings.
An Interconnection Agreement between the Navy and Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative was signed this month, allowing the new photovoltaic systems to operate in parallel with KIUC.
“When analyzing fiscal year 2010 electrical consumption at PMRF Kaua‘i and the capability of the PV buildings that will come online shortly, the base is expected to receive approximately 4.6 percent of its energy needs from the sun,” said Bryan Law, NAVFAC Hawai‘i renewable energy program engineer. “When all buildings are placed online, this will increase to 9.4 percent.”
The Department of Defense received $7.4 billion from the ARRA, which is less than one percent of the $787 billion total amount.
The Navy in Hawai‘i received $124 million to modernize Navy and Marine Corps shore infrastructure, enhance America’s energy independence, and sustain a steady and robust Maritime Force for decades.
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus laid out five aggressive energy goals in October 2009 to improve our energy security and efficiency, increase our energy independence and help lead the nation toward a clean energy economy.
This initiative assists in achieving the energy goal of increasing alternative energy afloat and ashore where by 2020, the Department of the Navy will produce at least 50 percent of shore-based energy requirements from alternative sources and 50 percent of DON installations will be net-zero.
NAVFAC is the Systems Command that delivers and maintains quality, sustainable facilities, acquires and manages capabilities for the Navy’s expeditionary combat forces, provides contingency engineering response, and enables energy security and environmental stewardship.
