Navy to host solar energy project

NORFOLK, Va. (AP/WAVY) - The Navy has finished construction on the largest solar energy project in Virginia.

The 10-acre solar farm just outside of Naval Station Norfolk contains more than 8,600 panels. 

Michelle Perry, project manager for Naval Facilities Engineering Command, says the panels can generate up to 2.1 megawatts of electricity.

"It's enough to provide power to 200 homes, so whatever energy is generated is what the Navy saves and what we don't have to purchase from Virginia Power," Perry said.

That's about two percent of the electricity required to run Naval Station Norfolk, the world's largest naval base.

The project cost $21 million and was funded through President Barak Obama's stimulus package. 

"We're gonna always need energy and fuel to be able to provide and protect not just the United States but our interests around the world," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy Tom Hicks. He made those remarks in November while touring a Navy Steam Plant in Portsmouth utilizing a mix of Biodiesel fuel and conventional fuel.

Last year, a report from the Pentagon's Inspector General concluded that it would take 447 years for the Navy's solar energy program to pay for itself.

Click here to read the Inspector General's 2011 findings on solar energy.

"I don't think Monkey Bottom was included in that report as the 447 years go. However, we are on track with the Secretary of the Navy's goals," Perry said.

Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), a former Secretary of the Navy, says in today's fiscal climate, the Department of Defense should be investing it's money to meet operational requirements.

"When I look at the 'must-haves' in terms of our national security budget, one of the things I keep coming back to is our shipbuilding program," Webb said.

Although construction was completed in November, the photovoltaic panels are not yet connected to the electricity grid that feeds the base. Perry says that connection is expected by Christmas.