GSA’s Leadership in Energy Management is on Display in North Carolina
The federal landscape for advancing renewable energy policy requires federal facilities to decrease energy consumption and increase its use of US-produced renewable energy. Former GSA Administrator Martha Johnson stated, “Zero footprint is our moon shot. Zero footprint will demand that we work harder than we have ever worked before,” Solar energy is proving to be one effective path.
Working with the Region IV GSA project team, Standard Solar implemented a 560 kW design utilizing 59,000 square feet of previously unused roof space for the solar array. The generated solar power is fed to a utility scale inverter which supplies the power to the building, reducing the building’s annual grid load by over 17%. In addition to developing a system that optimized performance and minimized costs, Standard Solar utilized ARRA approved “Made-in-the-USA” components.
By designing and developing a state-of-the-art solar PV system, Standard Solar helped GSA reduce the facility’s carbon footprint while fulfilling federal energy management goals. In the building’s central lobby a monitoring display screen allows employees and visitors to see how efficiently the system is working in real time — and how the GSA and the Federal government are putting our country’s renewable energy future in action.
