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Defense Department Leads the Way for Solar on Federal Lands

Wednesday, Jun 06 2012

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Solar in the News

Daily Journal of Commerce

A recent Department of Defense study hints tantalizingly at the vast potential for solar energy development on federally-owned lands in the western U.S.

The report evaluates the solar energy potential of nine military bases in California and Nevada. It concludes that even though only 4 percent of the land is suitable for solar development (all in California), the bases could nevertheless support 7,000 megawatts of solar energy – equivalent to the output of seven average-size nuclear power plants. This is more than 30 times the electricity consumed by the military installations themselves, and about two-thirds of the DOD's electricity consumption nationwide.