Military To Increase Solar Usage In Homes

Hawaii’s military community is about to get greener.

SolarCity, a solar power retailer and installer, has entered into an agreement to add 12.8 megawatts of new solar generation capacity at Lend Lease-managed Island Palm Communities at Fort Shafter, Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Army Airfield, Aliamanu Military Reservation, Helemano Military Reservation and Tripler Army Medical Center. The output is enough to power more than 7,500 military homes.

The projects are part of SolarCity’s SolarStrong initiative, which aims to build more than $1 billion in solar projects to provide power to up to 120,000 military homes across the nation.

The construction should greatly reduce the energy requirements of Hawaii’s military installations, according to Aaron Gillmore, SolarCity’s vice president of solar development.

“Hawaii is dependent upon petroleum for approximately 75 percent of its energy needs, making the military’s further adoption of solar a win for national security as well as the environment,” Gillmore stated.

The SolarStrong program is already under way at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Marine Corps Base Hawaii and Navy Region Hawaii.