The Biden administration announced Wednesday that the Department of Defense will be installing solar panels at the Pentagon as part of the administration’s push for alternative energy sources.
According to The Associated Press, the installation of solar panels at the Pentagon is part of the Biden administration’s plan to “reestablish the federal government as a sustainability leader” by shifting toward alternative forms of energy.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Brenda Mallory, and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks announced the solar panel project Wednesday, in addition to multiple other energy projects that will be completed at various U.S. military facilities in the United States and Germany.
The Associated Press reported that the Pentagon is one of 31 government facilities that have been granted $104 million from the Energy Department to double carbon-free electricity at government facilities and produce 27 megawatts of clean energy. The projects will also involve over $361 million of private investment capital, according to the Energy Department.
In addition to the solar panels, solar thermal panels and a new heat pump system will also be installed at the Pentagon in order to reduce the facility’s dependence on natural gas.
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Other projects at U.S. facilities will include the installation of solar photovoltaics at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Executive Institute and the installation of a heat pump system at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, as reported by The Hill.
“President Biden has charged the Federal Government to lead by example by transforming its footprint of over 300,000 buildings to be more energy efficient and climate resilient, which means cleaner air across the country,” Mallory said in a statement to reporters on Wednesday.
Mallory added, “This investment, part of the president’s Investing in America agenda, will help achieve the administration’s ambitious federal sustainability goals while creating thousands of good-paying jobs, saving taxpayers money, and building healthier communities.”
A Pentagon spokesperson told The Hill Wednesday that the $104 million in grant funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is “hopefully the first of three” rounds of funding for federal energy projects at government facilities as the Biden administration pushes for net-zero emissions by 2050.
Applications for the second round of government funding under the Energy Department’s Federal Energy Management Program will be accepted toward the end of the month.
