The Pentagon (Washington) goes green! On the menu, the installation of solar panels over the entire roof area. Would the US Department of Defense care about its carbon footprint?
The United States Department of Defense has announced plans to install solar panels on the roof of the Pentagon. Even if the project is not intended to compete with the largest solar farm in the world, the initiative is unprecedented. This is part of the Biden government’s plan, which plans to ” reestablish the federal government as a leader in sustainability “.
The Pentagon, soon energy self-sufficient
Although the Pentagon cannot compete in terms of size with the New Global Center in Chendgu, China (1.7 million m2, i.e. the area of 238 football fields), its 610,000 m2 They still have nothing to be ashamed of. In addition to the photovoltaic panels, a heat pump and thermal solar panels are also planned for the installation. Objective: net zero emissions! These devices will reduce by 95% the energy required by the building for heating and hot water, currently provided by oil and natural gas.
According to calculations, this will potentially save more than 7 million kWh of electricity and 135,213 terajoules of natural gas annually. The energy bill would then be reduced by $1.36 million.
Federal funding for sustainability
The Pentagon project is one of 31 federal facilities in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) program. They will all benefit from a grant package of $104 million. These grants are the equivalent of the first installment of a total of $250 million allocated to the program, promulgated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act adopted in the USA in 2021. The objective of the latter is to finance the modernization of the country’s infrastructure.
Other rather well-thought-out projects are also on the way, such as the application of photovoltaic film to the south-facing windows of the Department of Transportation. The modernization of a glazed surface with a total area of 7,989 m2 of one of the Department of Energy buildings is also in the drawers: these old glazings dating from the 1960s will be replaced by low-emissivity double glazing. Other buildings will also get a facelift, such as those of Commerce and Transport.
There is no doubt, the Biden government wants to set an example by rehabilitating or upgrading its official buildings. A frankly nice initiative, but which still remains insignificant compared to the five billion tonnes of CO2 issued by the country every year.
Sources: Electrek, Wikipedia
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