U.S. Energy Department Turns on Headquarters’ Solar Energy System
Sep 9, 2008 – If not the DOE, then who should it be? Roof Top Photovoltaic System Showcases New Solar Technologies. U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman inaugurated one of the largest solar power system in the Nation’s Capital, installed atop the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Forrestal Building. At a rooftop ceremony, Secretary Bodman energized the system for the first time. The solar electric photovoltaic (PV) system will generate about 200 mwh of electricity annually, provide up to 8% of the Forrestal complex’s energy during peak hours, and save as much as $26,000 in utility costs in its first year of operation. [Not much in terms of the US government’s multi-trillion budget.]
In January 2007, President Bush issued an Executive Order calling on all federal agencies to reduce energy intensity, or consumption per square foot, by 30%.
The photovoltaic system is approximately 40-50 times larger than a typical residential system. The system is integrated into the current roof and is not visible from points below the roofline. SunPower Corporation, (Nasdaq: SPWR) designed and installed the system, which has 891 photovoltaic modules, each with an efficiency of 18.5 percent, among the highest efficiency modules available today. Insulation incorporated into each module has the potential to provide additional energy savings of up to 30% by reducing the building’s heating and cooling load.
The system will help DOE avoid annually the emission of up to 186 metric tons/yr of greenhouse gases.
