Solar project at Los Alamitos base expected to increase energy resilience in Southern California
By malls on August 12, 2023
A solar project expected to generate 100% of the power needed at the Joint Force Training Base Los Alamitos has powered up and will also provide juice to nearby cities.
The completion of the nearly 100-acre project, developed by Arizona-based Bright Canyon Energy, was celebrated at the 1,300-acre Army base on Friday, Aug. 10. BCE, which partnered with local power utility companies, paid for the installation of the solar panels and will get a percentage of the revenue from selling the renewable energy to local communities.
Los Alamitos Council Member Emily Hibard, left, looks on as George Brietigam, center, Garden Grove Mayor Pro Tem, takes a photo of Schelly Sustarsic, right, Seal Beach Mayor Pro Tem, in front of the many solar panels following the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Joint Forces Training Base Energy Resilience Project in Los Alamitos on Friday, August 11, 2023. The project’s microgrid consisting of 100 acres of solar panels, will provide power for the Joint Forces Training Base missions for a minimum of two weeks during electrical grid outages. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Some of the many solar panels at the Joint Forces Training Base Energy Resilience Project in Los Alamitos on Friday, August 11, 2023. The project’s microgrid consisting of 100 acres of solar panels, will provide power for the Joint Forces Training Base missions for a minimum of two weeks during electrical grid outages. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Rachael Jacobson, Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Army Installations, Energy and Environment, speaks during the Joint Forces Training Base Energy Resilience Project ribbon cutting ceremony in Los Alamitos on Friday, August 11, 2023. The project’s microgrid consists of 100 acres of solar panels that will provide power for the Joint Forces Training Base missions for a minimum of two weeks during electrical grid outages. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Mario A. Diaz, back left, Deputy Undersecretary of the Army, speaks during the Joint Forces Training Base Energy Resilience Project ribbon cutting ceremony in Los Alamitos on Friday, August 11, 2023. The project’s microgrid consists of 100 acres of solar panels that will provide power for the Joint Forces Training Base missions for a minimum of two weeks during electrical grid outages. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Los Alamitos Council Member Emily Hibard signs a solar panel at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Joint Forces Training Base Energy Resilience Project in Los Alamitos on Friday, August 11, 2023. The project’s microgrid consisting of 100 acres of solar panels, will provide power for the Joint Forces Training Base missions for a minimum of two weeks during electrical grid outages. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Emily Hibard, left, Los Alamitos Council Member, speaks with Schelly Sustarsic, center, Seal Beach Mayor Pro Tem, and George Brietigam, right, Garden Grove Mayor Pro Tem, near the some of the many solar panels following the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Joint Forces Training Base Energy Resilience Project in Los Alamitos on Friday, August 11, 2023. The project’s microgrid consisting of 100 acres of solar panels, will provide power for the Joint Forces Training Base missions for a minimum of two weeks during electrical grid outages. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Mario A. Diaz, Deputy Undersecretary of the Army, speaks during the Joint Forces Training Base Energy Resilience Project ribbon cutting ceremony in Los Alamitos on Friday, August 11, 2023. The project’s microgrid consists of 100 acres of solar panels that will provide power for the Joint Forces Training Base missions for a minimum of two weeks during electrical grid outages. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Some of the many solar panels at the Joint Forces Training Base Energy Resilience Project in Los Alamitos on Friday, August 11, 2023. The project’s microgrid consisting of 100 acres of solar panels, will provide power for the Joint Forces Training Base missions for a minimum of two weeks during electrical grid outages. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jason Smith, Vice President of Bright Canyon Energy, speaks during the Joint Forces Training Base Energy Resilience Project ribbon cutting ceremony in Los Alamitos on Friday, August 11, 2023. The project’s microgrid consists of 100 acres of solar panels that will provide power for the Joint Forces Training Base missions for a minimum of two weeks during electrical grid outages. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Some of the many solar panels at the Joint Forces Training Base Energy Resilience Project in Los Alamitos on Friday, August 11, 2023. The project’s microgrid consisting of 100 acres of solar panels, will provide power for the Joint Forces Training Base missions for a minimum of two weeks during electrical grid outages. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A signed solar panel at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Joint Forces Training Base Energy Resilience Project in Los Alamitos on Friday, August 11, 2023. The project’s microgrid consisting of 100 acres of solar panels, will provide power for the Joint Forces Training Base missions for a minimum of two weeks during electrical grid outages. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Business, local government, and military officials have their photo taken following the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Joint Forces Training Base Energy Resilience Project in Los Alamitos on Friday, August 11, 2023. The project’s microgrid consisting of 100 acres of solar panels, will provide power for the Joint Forces Training Base missions for a minimum of two weeks during electrical grid outages. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The impetus for the solar project, officials said, is the base’s efforts at environmental sustainability and follows previous environmental initiatives, such as a program the base was recognized for in 2018 that prevents military aircraft from colliding with birds.
“The project increases energy resilience for the base and Southern California by adding locally generated carbon-free renewable electricity to the grid,” said Maj. Robert Woodson, a spokesman for the California Military Department, which includes the Army National Guard, Air National Guard and the State Guard. “During an emergency, it provides up to 14 days of power on the installation, which allows the base to continue operating as Southern California’s emergency response hub.”
If there were an earthquake and power outage, the solar farm would be able to provide the base with enough reserve power to fly in rescue teams, supplies, or anything else needed to address the emergency, officials said. The base has an 8,000-foot runway and is home to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services’s regional “crisis room.” The airfield is the only military runway between Point Mugu and Camp Pendleton.
The solar panels are staged along the western edge of the base. They are divided between two open areas – near a golf course that is to the east and along the edge on the Los Alamitos Boulevard side.
The project, which broke ground in May 2022, was a joint effort involving the Army, California Military Department, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bright Canyon Energy. It also supports the Army’s efforts to increase the use of clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Woodson said.
Officials with Bright Canyon Energy said the microgrid is currently producing a small amount of power on a “test basis” and should be at full power in three weeks.
“This project showcases how our installations can achieve energy resilience through carbon-free energy sources,” said Rachel Jacobson, assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy & Environment, “and serves as a touchstone for the Army Climate Strategy goal to build a microgrid on every installation by 2035.”
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