Partnering with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, the solar farms will be constructed at Elgin Air Force Base, NAS Whiting Field, and NAS Saufley Field Pensacola.
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The project will be implemented in partnership with Hannah Solar and the US Navy and will involve the installation of roughly 13,000 photovoltaic (PV) panels at the Naval Construction Battalion Center (Seabee Base) in Gulfport.
Most of Minnesota’s renewable energy comes from wind power, accounting for 17 of the 21 percent of overall energy generation, but there are attempts afoot to increase the state’s solar power as well. It will be one of three such projects coming to the state.
A lot of the Australian uptake has been facilitated by larger retailers and Mr Barnes says Contact Energy will participate when solar hits a level of scale, but “right now there are other scale opportunities for the business”.
The solar operations will be capable of producing 105 megawatts of power. But while solar production may be the fastest-growing energy source in 2016, it still makes up a very small portion of overall USA energy production. “Renewable energy is important to a well-balanced energy portfolio”, said Mississippi Power President and CEO Anthony Wilson. It’s a major step forward and it establishes a path forward for us to grow our solar renewables.
The solar facilities will not replace Mississippi Power’s generating plants, but will have the capability to provide energy that will help diversify the company’s generation portfolio and help keep rates affordable for customers.
The Maryland Public Service Commission came up with a set of regulations and is taking final comments so the program can begin on May 15. “This is great for the economy here and the rate payers”, PSC Commissioner Brandon Presley said.
Contact Energy [NZX: CEN] chief executive Dennis Barnes says other differences between the two countries include Australia being sunnier than New Zealand and also having sunnier conditions at times of peak demand.
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The slight drop in wind this year is likely because developers will be focused on qualifying for 100% of the $0.023/kWh production tax credit by starting project construction before the end of 2016 for completion before the end of 2017.
