NEARLY 5,000 US military homes will have Solar PV panels installed.
The initiative has been launched by SolarCity who are aiming to install systems in up to 120,000 military houses across the US, at a cost of $1billion.
Impressively, when the project is completed it will be the largest solar-powered community in America.
The Defence department is thought to be the largest energy consumer in America and it plans to eventually produce as much energy as it uses, deplete all waste sent to landfills and increase the amount of water reused.
The work will begin in January in Fort Bliss, Texas and White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Energy & Environment), said: "Fort Bliss continues to make advances in reducing its overall energy footprint and demonstrating its leadership on the forefront of energy efficiency.”
She added: “This public/private partnership is a strategic and significant investment which will, over the life cycle of the installed photo-voltaic system, save the government money while providing an alternative and sustainable source of energy to the installation. I am confident the Army will continue to lead the way on innovative business partnerships like the one here at Fort Bliss."
The project is mostly financed by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who support the US Army’s ‘net zero’ energy vision and it is thought the project will create 100 jobs in installation and maintenance.
SolarCity will engineer, install and maintain the solar systems at Fort Bliss and WSMR which, at 1,700 and 3,200 square miles respectively, represent two of the Army’s largest installations.
