SunPower Begins Construction on 13.76 MW Solar Farm at U.S. Naval Base

SunPower Corporation stocks were up over 5% Wednesday afternoon following the company's announcement that it had begun construction on a utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) project in California.

The solar farm is being built on the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS China Lake), just over 150 miles east of Los Angeles.  The power plant is being financed through a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) signed between SunPower and the U.S Navy.

The contract is the first 20-year PPA signed with a federal agency.  According to SunPower president Howard Wenger, this agreement will not only "significantly lower electricity costs to the U.S. Navy over the life of the system," but also, "can be used as a template for additional large-scale federal solar projects."

Under the terms of the agreement the Navy has to produce no upfront costs to build the project. In fact, NAWS China Lake will serve as host to the solar system which is owned by an affiliate of MetLife, Inc. SunPower will construct the facility using its Oasis Power Plant product which includes the company's E20 solar panels.

In June 2011, U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory confirmed the E20 series be the first commercially available solar panels to achieve a total efficiency of 20%.

When construction is complete, the solar facility will be capable of producing 13.78 MW of renewable energy which is the equivalent of over 30% of NAWS China Lake's annual electricity needs.  SunPower was one of five companies selected by Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) in March 2010 to compete for 40 MW in solar power projects to be located on Naval and Marine Corps bases.

The 40 MW of solar energy, including the China Lake installation, NAVFAC is pursing is part of a larger Naval renewable energy mandate. In October 2010, the Navy set a goal to produce 50% of its onshore-based energy needs from renewables by 2020.

The NAWS China Lake solar installation continues what is becoming a long-standing relationship between the Department of Defense and SunPower.  "SunPower has more than a decade of experience and more than 50 megawatts installed or under contract with the federal government," says Wenger.

The California-based solar developer has been building solar facilities for federal agencies since 1999. To date, the company has installed solar power systems at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, Pearl Harbor, Fort Dix, Coronado Island, and the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Image Credit: Marion Doss via Flickr.