Community, Microgrid Solar Lead to More than $1 Billion in U.S. Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--While utility-scale solar projects garner most the of the headlines when it comes to solar energy, municipalities and organizations throughout the U.S. are implementing renewable energy in smaller ways. Industrial Info is tracking more than $1 billion in municipal and smaller solar energy projects ranging in size from 1 megawatt (MW) to more than 50 MW. California, which has some of the most stringent legislation regarding renewable energy, leads the U.S. in the implementation of these projects.

Many of these smaller solar projects are destined for airports. Industrial Info is tracking 27 smaller projects for the placement of solar arrays at airports in the U.S., ranging from regional facilities to larger, international airports. Airports provide good locations for solar arrays as they often have unused land between and surrounding runways as well as extra acreage on their grounds. In addition, the rooftops of airport parking garages can provide ideal open space for solar energy generation. Underway at the moment is one of the smallest solar projects being tracked by Industrial Info: a 500-kilovolt (kV) solar array at the Knox County Regional Airport in Owls Head, Maine. A ground-mounted solar array will be built on two acres of airport land, providing renewable energy to the airport and town. The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here for details of the project.

Solar arrays of about 1 megawatt also are being planned for larger international airports in locations such as San Francisco, California; Baltimore, Maryland; Charlotte, North Carolina; and the airports in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Subscribers can click here for a look at all related project reports.

Similar to regional airports, military air bases provide good locations for solar arrays. At the Beale Airforce Base, which is located about 60 miles north of Sacramento in California, the government is establishing a microgrid system combining different forms of generation. Construction on a 2-MW ground-mounted solar array kicked off earlier this year. In addition, a battery energy storage system (BESS) will be able to provide 1 MW of energy when the sun isn't shining. The array and BESS have the potential to be integrated with three existing 500-kV diesel generators for a microgrid of 4.5 MW of total generation potential. The project is expected to be completed by the end of next year. Subscribers can click here for more details.

Prisons and correctional facilities also provide good locations for microgrids using solar power. The California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation is looking to expand on 5.4 MW of existing generation at its Ironwood State Prison in Blythe, California, located in the south of the state near the Arizona border. The array will be constructed across a 20.8-acre site and will use more than 8,200 fixed-tilt, ground-mounted solar panels to provide an additional 2 MW of power. Construction is expected to start next summer, taking about a year to complete. Subscribers can click here for more information.

The state prison in Soledad, California, also is looking at adding 5,200 solar panels to provide 3.5 MW of power to the facility. Engineering, procurement and construction contractor ForeFront Power LLC (San Francisco, California) is expected to break ground on the project next year. Subscribers can click here to learn more.

While municipal landfills often harness their renewable energy potential in the form of renewable natural gas derived from gaseous output of the garbage, a former landfill in Franklin County, Ohio, is implementing a solar array. Under an agreement made a few years ago, project developer BQ Energy LLC (Wappingers Falls, New York) will lease 173 acres from the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio and provide rental payments based on installed megawatt of generation. Plans call for about 50 MW of power. The project could kick off next year, putting it on track for completion in 2025. Subscribers can click here for more details.

Smaller solar power projects provide for the means for municipalities and institutions to use renewable energy of their own, often in the background of emissions-reduction initiatives and state renewable portfolio standards. These smaller projects can contribute in a big way to the U.S.' growing solar footprint.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Power Database can click here for a look at all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).