by Shane Henson — September 16, 2011—SolarCity, a provider of solar power design, financing, installation, monitoring and energy efficiency services, has launched a project that could double the number of residential solar photovoltaic installations in the United States.
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently announced the offer of a conditional commitment for a partial guarantee of a $344 million loan to help secure financing for SolarCity’s “SolarStrong” project. As part of the project, SolarCity plans to partner with the country’s leading military housing-privatization developers to install, own and operate up to 160,000 rooftop solar installations on as many as 124 military housing developments across 33 U.S. states. The project is expected to create more than $1 billion in solar projects and 371 megawatts of new solar generation capacity.
The SolarStrong projects will likely include installing solar on other privatized buildings on military bases, such as community centers, administrative offices, maintenance buildings and storage warehouses. Facilities personnel working for the military who manage the wide assortment of buildings that will benefit from the solar initiative will likely be the first to notice the amount of energy their respective buildings save, as well as their overall reduced energy costs. Residential buildings and businesses beyond the military community can also benefit from the same solar options that are available for the U.S. military, notes the company.
