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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / ckojima@staradvertiser.com
SolarCity has begun installing solar photovoltaic panels on 6,500 military homes, its biggest project in Hawaii. Shelton Guerrero, left, and Quinton Kamaunu get solar panels ready for installation.
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SolarCity has started work on its largest project in Hawaii — the installation of solar photovoltaic panels on 6,500 military homes.
The PV panels, totaling 24 megawatts of generating capacity, will be installed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay and at various Navy housing facilities around the state.
SolarCity is partnering on the project with Forest City Military Communities, a private sector contractor that provides military housing. The project will be financed primarily by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, according to a news release from SolarCity and Forest City.
"Top Navy leaders support these initiatives because we are stronger, safer and less vulnerable when we embrace renewable energy and support sustainability in all of our communities," Rear Adm. Frank Ponds, commander of Navy Region Hawaii, said Wednesday at a ceremony marking the launch of the project. "We need to diversify our energy resources and we need to build strong partnerships."
Col. Brian Annichiarico, commanding officer of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, said the project would make a significant contribution to the state’s goal of generating 40 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
The 24 megawatts generated by the project would be nearly one-fourth of all the PV installed statewide last year. SolarCity did not provide a time frame for the project.
The project is part of a broader initiative in which SolarCity plans to build more than $1 billion worth of solar energy projects for U.S. military housing communities with 300 megawatts of generating capacity to serve 120,000 homes, according to the news release.