Nanosolar completes installation of 1 MW CIGS project at Camp Roberts
Nanosolar has completed a 1 MW ground-mounted solar installation at Camp Roberts, the largest of California’s National Guard training facilities, located in San Miguel.
The installation is part of the U.S. Department of Defence’s (DoD) Energy Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP). This relates to testing various green technologies to identify viable solutions to address rising energy costs and minimise the reliance on fossil fuels.
The DoD spends over $4 billion annually on electricity use, accounting for more than 90 percent of the federal government’s energy use.
Nanosolar is contributing to the ESTCP program with its solar demonstration project at Camp Roberts, designed to show the effectiveness of using its low-cost, thin-film CIGS utility panels. The installation, which is comprised of 4,992 of Nanosolar’s thin-film panels, will be used to test the capabilities of the product for producing energy in areas where solar irradiance is above average. At Camp Roberts, strong annual isolation of 1892 kWh/m2 is typical. The project was installed in an area of flat, unused land.
“Our project at Camp Roberts shows how our technology can be used for both military and non-military applications, on a path to greater energy independence,” says Eugenia Corrales, CEO of Nanosolar. “Nanosolar is on track to deliver the most cost-efficient solar electricity, with the expectation that we can achieve grid parity with non-renewable energy resources by 2015.”
“We are pleased to see Nanosolar fulfil its goal to provide cost-effective renewable energy solutions that address Department of Defence energy security requirements. The U.S. Army alone has identified renewable energy projects that represent $7 billion over the next ten years. We look forward to continuing our work with Nanosolar, as the company expands its deployments across U.S. Defence installations,” adds David Odom, Arsenal Venture Partners, the manager of OnPoint Technologies, the U.S. Army’s Venture Capital Fund.
Founded in 2002, Nanosolar uses a unique high-throughput, roll-to-roll printing process to coat aluminium foil with proprietary CIGS inks.
Camp Roberts hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the completion and energising of this project on May 11, 2012.
