SolarCity announced its biggest military solar project is set to power 4,700 homes at Fort Bliss in Texas, including the adjacent White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico.
The 13.2 MW rooftop project is an equipment lease agreement financed primarily by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and is part of SolarCity’s $1 billion SolarStrong initiative.
SolarStrong aims to install PV systems on up to 120,000 military homes – up to 300 MW by 2018 – and supports the U.S. Army’s goal of meeting one quarter of its energy demand through renewable sources by 2025.
Construction at Fort Bliss and the White Sans Missile Range is set to begin in January 2013, and will provide over 100 jobs over the course of the project.
Photo Credit: SolarCity
“Thanks to the innovative collaboration between Fort Bliss and our housing partner Balfour Beatty Communities, we are moving closer to achieving our goal of reducing our carbon footprint and becoming completely self-sufficient in energy as an installation by 2018,” said Major General Dana Pittard, Commanding General of the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss.
SolarCity’s installation will cover both Fort Bliss and WSMR, which are at 1,700 and 3,200 square miles respectively, making two of the Army’s largest installations in the Department of Defense.
“Once complete, these solar arrays will resource the largest solar project in any housing area in our Army. The solar project will pay for itself through the installation’s reduced utility bills,” said Major General Pittard.
