The US Military is sitting on a potential 7GW of untapped solar power capacity in the Mojave and Colorado Deserts, according to a recent Department of Defense report that analyzed the applicability of a variety of solar technologies across seven military installations.
Initially nine military installations were analyzed, seven in California and two in Nevada, taking in sites used by the Army, Navy, and Air Force as well as the Marine Corps. By comparing competing solar energy technologies on such a large scale, the report (titled Solar Energy Development on Department of Defense Installations in the Mojave and Colorado Deserts, available in PDF on the ESTCP website) gives insight as to the commercial viability of solar power in the US today.
Though building roofs and car park shades were identified as potential homes for solar collectors, ground sites make up the vast majority of the potential solar sites analyzed in the study. These areas were subject to GIS analysis, overlaying up to 40 variables per location. Suitable sites were assessed for their technical and economic feasibility; six solar electricity-generating technologies were examined, including crystalline photovoltaics, thin-film photovoltaics, and concentrating solar thermal systems.
Due to the lack of "significant solar development potential" in the Nevada bases, they do not contribute to the 7GW of potential solar capacity identified by the study. Additionally, the report found that, for the seven bases in California, 96 percent of the land was also unsuitable—excessive slopes, environmental conflicts and the presence of exploding things being among the reasons for exclusion. That left 125,000 acres of land, of which 100,000 were deemed either "likely" or "questionably" suitable for solar, and 25,000 "suitable."
