Summer 2009
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Armando Jimenez

Solar Panels hang over a New Jersey parking lot.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is constructing two carport solar power projects for the New Jersey National Guard – one for the Joint Forces Headquarters at Fort Dix and one for the National Training Facility Headquarters at Sea Girt.

These projects will not only save money spent on electricity, but will also help the Guard meet renewable energy requirements under the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

The Corps is erecting carport structures above the parking lots at both locations along with lighting, inverters, transformers, switchgears and electrical metering equipment. The carport structures will stand 16 feet above the parking lot pavement and will support the solar power panel arrays.

The panels are modular. Each uses several photovoltaic cells to absorb the sun's light and produce direct current electricity. This electricity will go into an inverter to transform it into alternating current for use in nearby facilities. A tie-in to the public power grid makes any excess power available to the community.

When finished later this year, the Fort Dix project will generate approximately 240 kilowatts and the Sea Girt project approximately 238 kilowatts. This will save considerable money due to lower electricity bills, especially during the high-demand summertime months, and from New Jersey's Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) program.

Under SREC, owners of solar power systems generating more than 1,000 kilowatts of electricity per year connected to the public power grid receive certificates that can be sold and traded to New Jersey businesses and individuals, enabling them to receive solar power benefits without building a solar power system themselves. The revenue from the certificates returns to the solar power system owners.

In total, the New Jersey National Guard will save approximately $116,000 in electricity bills and earn approximately $350,000 from SREC.

Armando Jimenez, project manager for the Fort Dix and Sea Girt construction effort, says that he envisions an increase in solar power project construction in the future. "The New Jersey National Guard has asked the Corps of Engineers to perform additional solar power projects in the future," he said. "These projects are a win-win for the community, the Guard and the Nation. We are helping to meet the Army's environmental sustainment goals and America's renewable energy vision for the future."

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