The solar array is the third component in the Navy's $34.1 million initiative to conserve energy on Naval Base Guam. The other two components include:
The controls optimization of heating, ventilation and air condition systems; and
An energy-efficient lighting upgrade to buildings and streetlights throughout the base.
The combined benefit of all three projects will save the Navy about $1.6 million a year (payback period = 3.1 years), said Lee Hooker, Guam's general manager for Wisconsin-based Johnson Controls Inc., which was awarded the contract for the conservation measures.
The first component of the contract was to build an automating system for 42 buildings and set up a control room to monitor energy use by those buildings. The monitoring system will allow technicians to locate inefficient energy use.
"It makes it much easier for someone to identify problems and track the energy use of individual buildings, rather than just looking at one big power bill," Hooker said.
The second component introduced induction streetlight fixtures that provide a clean, energy-efficient white light. The new streetlights are about 45-percent more energy efficient than their traditional counterparts, Hooker said.
About 1,704 solar panels are lined up at the bottom of a hill on the Navy base to collect sunlight. The panels can withstand winds of up to 140 mph, Hooker said. The major concern in the event of a storm is projectile damage, he noted.
The farm is surrounded by an extended chain-linked fence that leaves space for an additional 250 kilowatts of panels, if it becomes viable for the Navy to expand the array, Hooker said. The power from the solar arrays will connect directly into the power grid, easing the use of electricity on the base.
The completion of the initiative comes at the tail end of National Energy Awareness Month, which promotes clean energy use and new technologies to reduce the U.S. carbon footprint on the planet.
"As a nation, we are far too reliant upon fossil fuels and foreign oils," Lynch said. "This degrades America's strategic position on the world's stage, and this reliance impedes upon our national security."
Lynch said there are four elements that are essential components to the overall energy strategy that's in the best interest of the United State's national security:
Conserving energy;
Reducing dependency on a volatile energy supply;
Investing in alternative and renewable energy technologies; and
Educating all Americans on the importance of energy conservation
"It's expensive to invest in alternative and renewable energy initiatives," he said. "But many would say, at this point in world history, that we cannot afford to not invest in alternative and renewable options."
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