Published on Tuesday, Nov 29 2011 by John Woods
As it continues to become ever more mainstream, solar energy is now being utilised by an eclectic range of customers, from public bodies to businesses to private homes.
This week, it became the power source of choice at a large jail located in California, signalling the start of a possible trend of the green energy source at similar institutions across the globe.
Once considered to be too expensive to use in large quantities,
solar power has now become a popular power source at many cash-strapped public organisations looking to save money on power bills.
A vast solar array was installed and turned on at East Mesa Detention Complex in Otay Mesa, San Diego County, California, earlier this week. It is expected that the new installation will provide 14 per cent of the energy needed by a prison of this size and capacity.
The array – which has been constructed over the parking lot of the detention centre and acts as a shade cover - is also tipped to save San Diego County around £896,000 on the cost of its power bills over the course of the next 20 years.
Greg Cox, San Diego County Supervisor, told NBC Los Angeles, “This used to be a bare parking lot. Now it’s generating energy whenever the sun’s out.”
Similar arrays are also in the pipeline for other state prisons, as well as educational institutions such as schools, libraries and universities.
Bill Kelly, a managing director of San Jose-based solar firm SunPower Corp, told the news source, “There’s an increasing investment by schools and other public agencies because the cost of energy from solar is getting increasingly competitive with standard power sources.”
Some of the other solar arrays at prisons include a five-megawatt facility that has been constructed at North Kern State Prison in Bakersfield and a planned installation at a desert-based prison in Los Angeles County.
Mathew Dickey, solar firm SunEdison's managing director for public sector business, explained the trend for solar arrays at prisons. “The reason jails are attractive is they often have space. It allows for a ground mount facility, which is the least expensive to install.”
To find out more information about the ways in which solar energy can be used, visit the
Energy Saving Trust website.
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