The U.S. Navy has taken its first steps toward solar power at its Oahu base housing. Could this the start of something big?

Oahu, home to Pearl Harbor, the second-largest naval installation in the Pacific Ocean, is now also home to a landmark housing initiative from one of the Navy’s civilian contractors:  Forest City Military Communities has contracted Suntech Hawaii and SKY Engineering to install over 400 solar panels on a community center for military housing on the island.  The photovoltaic cells will last over 30 years, and are expected to generate over 13,000 kilowatt hours of energy every month, enough to power 10 average homes, and recoup the cost in just ovre half the expected lifespan.

So The Navy Bought Solar Panels.  Why Does This Matter?

In short, because government contracts are a huge market.  On Oahu alone, Forest City is going to be rebuilding over 6,000 homes and 34 neighborhoods in their present contract.  Imagine if clean energy took over every home that FCMC was building, or on Oahu.  Or in the country.  It’s possible, once the cost becomes competitive with coal over the next several years.  Second, the military is comprised of individuals that seem to fit two criteria more often than not:  they find their way into leadership positions as civilians, and they are conservative, not necessarily in the George Bush sense, but in the “prove it” sense.  Having clean energy “prove it” on a military base is a proof of concept so good that money can’t buy it.

Why isn’t this nationwide?

You can bet that this program is in Hawaii for a reason:  the sun is almost always shining there, and the panels are on a community center because the energy loss can be minimized more effectively than attempting to power individual homes.  In the end, the idea that the panels are going to pay for themselves in 16 years does mark this as a financial decision, and not an environmental one– but making the right decision is still the right decision, no matter the reason.

More reading:

Solar Power System Part Of Navy Housing (Pacific Business Journal)

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