EDWARDS AFB, Calif., Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Edwards Air Force Base in California says three new solar farms at the facility will provide energy cost savings for the historic flight test center.
After three years of planning and coordination with local utilities and environmental agencies, workers have begun construction of solar farms intended to save the base hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, a release from the base said Wednesday.
"This project was brought to the base through a federal program named Power Purchase Agreement," Yusuf Ahmed, 95th Civil Engineering electrical engineer said. "There is a third party that is chosen to build a renewable energy source on the base and they are the ones who fund all the installation. The agreement is we purchase the power from them."
Edwards will buy the electricity from Borrego Solar, a company headquartered in El Cajon, Calif., that is building the installations.
"When the sun is up, and the plants are generating power and feeding it to us, we won't have to pay Southern California Edison some of the high-demand charges from June through September," James Judkins, 95th CE director, said.
The base power requirement is 30 megawatts at its peak and the three solar farms will provide one megawatt each to the grid, Edwards officials said.
