The hospitals - four in California and one each in Arizona and Nevada - will have the largest solar power arrays in the VA system once installation is complete. In total, 1.7 megawatts of solar energy will be generated by the arrays, reducing the VA's energy costs by an estimated $175,000 each year.
California-based REC Solar will be responsible for installing the solar panels. Solar energy "reliably delivers clean power, particularly during peak demand hours when the electricity rates are the most expensive," said REC Solar CEO Angiolo Laviziano. The 2.1 megawatt-hours generated by REC's system are enough to power 3,600 households, the company says.
And the VA's solar installation will help it meet federal mandates for renewable energy use. According to the Department of Energy, no less than 3 percent of the electricity consumed by the federal government must be renewably generated between 2007 and 2009. That mandate rises to 5 percent between 2010 and 2012 and 7.5 percent thereafter.
As VA hospitals have discovered, solar energy is an easy way to save money and meet the government's standards.
