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Base breaks ground on solar project
Will bring 25 percent of MCLB power
BARSTOW • The Marine Corps Logistics Base broke ground Monday morning on a solar photovoltaic project that will eventually provide 25 percent of the base’s electricity needs.
It’s part of a plan that military officials say will save the base $3.9 million over 20 years.
Generating more electricity on site means the base can avoid purchasing electricity from Southern California Edison at higher prices, project manager Julien Trinh said.
Construction should begin in June and be complete by the end of summer. It will bring 4,454 solar panels to two sites: a 10 acre site on the Nebo Annex and a 20 acre site at the Yermo portion of the base.
Combined, the two sites will generate about 1 megawatt of electricity, enough to power 140 homes.
The project comes at no cost to the federal government, with energy firm Sundurance Energy constructing the solar panels under a 20-year purchase agreement with the Marine Corps. The agreement locks in the purchase price the base will pay for electricity from the panels.
The project is a response to Department of Defense mandates to cut costs and increase energy efficiency, base commander Col. Dan Ermer said.
He said the base is the first in the Marine Corps to have a solar installation, but other facilities like the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake have similar projects in the works.
The United States military is the world’s largest fuel consumer, spending about $15 billion on energy each year. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 mandates that the Department of Defense receive 25 percent of its total electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
BY THE NUMBERS
Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow solar installation
Solar photovoltaic panels: 4,454
Acres: 10 in Nebo, 20 in Yermo
Greenhouse gases saved: 18,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over 20 years, 27 tons of sulfur and nitrous oxides
Electricity generated: 333 kilowatts from Nebo, 666 kilowatts from Yermo — enough to power 140 homes
Percentage of base’s electricity usage: 25 percent
Money saved: $3.9 million over 20 years
Source: Marine Corps Logistics Base estimates
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(760) 256-4126 or spearson@desertdispatch.com
