Multi-State Solar Rooftop Project for Bolstering U.S. Electric Grid Getting $1.4 Billion in Fed Loan
November 4, 2011 Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis With the finalizing of a $1.4 billion partial loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy, Project Amp is ‘green-lighted’ to go. The solar generation project will be installed across about 750 commercial rooftops across 28 states, and the District of Columbia.
Project Amp. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy’s loam programs office.
“The energy generated from those panels will contribute directly to the electrical grid, as opposed to powering the buildings where they are installed,” said the energy department.
Prologis – an owner, operator, and developer of industrial real estate – will provide the rooftops, and will also act as developer, construction manager and program sponsor, in addition to making an equity investment in the project.
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said this project “will help us meet the SunShot goal of achieving cost competitive solar power with other forms of energy by the end of this decade.”
The project is expected to produce an annual output of about 1 million megawatt-hours, with enough power to provide clean, renewable electrical energy for approximately 80,000 homes for a year, according to the energy department and affiliated experts.