Thursday, July 02, 2009 at 4:51:32 PM - by Jeanne Roberts

In Yuma, Arizona, where the sun averages more than 11 hours per day of solar radiance, and temperatures hover around 107 degrees (Fahrenheit) in July, Solar Integrated Technologies and Syska Hennessy Group Construction, Inc. have just completed the installation of a $391,139, roof-mounted building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roofing system to a Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS).

The funding comes courtesy of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and the installation, initiated on June 18, will – according to NAVFAC Southwest project-leader for the MCAS Yuma Solar Photovoltaic Rooftop Power Installation, Chau Vu – reduce energy dependence from the commercial power grid while improving the Department of Defense’s (DoD) goal for renewable energy initiatives.

Solar Integrated Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roofing systems, has so far won two DoD contracts, the first in Yuma, and the second at the U.S. Naval Station in Guam. Both will help demonstrate the superiority of the company’s BIPV product, which R. Randall MacEwen, President and CEO, describes as “enjoying an energy yield advantage in real-world conditions”. Yuma, with its baking temperatures and brilliant sunshine, is certainly a test of any solar system.

Syska Hennessy Group Construction, Inc. will install, commission and test the 32-kilowatt (peak) crystalline solar photovoltaic system, which is expected to be completed by December.

The Yuma-based Marine Corps Air Station won the 2008 secretary of the Navy environmental award for pollution prevention, and is being considered for a similar honor in environmental awareness, based on its water conservation, energy efficiency, hazardous material consolidation and range sustainment policies.

The first, water conservation, involved the removal of vegetation like grass and its replacement with local plant varieties like cacti. All the water for this and other maintenance operations comes from well water, reserving treated water only for drinking. The hazardous material consolidation removed much of the 2 million tons of debris on the Barry M. Goldwater and Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Ranges. The BIPV system is the jewel in the crown of the Yuma base’s sustainable practices.

The MCAS Yuma station has a reputation among Marine Corps bases for setting a standard of sustainability, even though it is one of the smallest facilities. On May 28, Col. Mark Werth, the MCAS Yuma station’s commanding officer, traveled to Washington, D.C. with a coterie of base representatives to receive the environmental award from Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus at a ceremony at the Pentagon.