The deal is sealed: US Navy makes historic purchase

September 10, 2015 | By

By William Pentland

The U.S. Department of the Navy just sealed the deal on the largest purchase of renewable energy ever made by a federal entity.

Mesquite solar project. Credit: U.S. Department of Energy

In August, the U.S. Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, commemorated an agreement with Sempra U.S. Gas & Power to construct the Mesquite Solar 3 project about 60 miles west of Phoenix, Arizona.

The Mesquite solar project will include about 650,000 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels equipped with ground-mounted, horizontal single-axis trackers. The facility will have a total capacity of 210 megawatts (MW) when construction is complete and will be used to provide a third of the energy needed to power 14 Navy and Marine Corps installations.

The Navy is investing in solar power in an effort to diversify its on-shore energy portfolio and enhance cost stability over the long term.

"The collaboration on Mesquite Solar 3 is a triumph of innovative problem solving, and will help to increase the [Department of the Navy's] energy security by diversifying our power portfolio and improving energy efficiency," said Mabus in a press release.

The Mesquite Solar 3 project will save the Navy an estimated $90 million or more in energy costs.

The project will also help the 14 installations comply with California's Renewable Portfolio Standard. A

In 2009, Congress mandated that the Department of Defense produce or procure 25 percent of the energy consumed at military installation from renewable energy resources by 2025.

The Western Area Power Administration facilitated the Navy's agreement with Sempra.

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