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.