Four Federal Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems: Powering Our Nation's Capital with Solar

One of the fastest growing markets for photovoltaics (PV) is the urban sector. Municipal planners have discovered that PV systems operate favorably in their urban areas, and can be aesthetically integrated into the urban landscape. The federal government has a long history of using PV in a variety of applications, but until recently few applications have been in urban environments. During the last five years, four grid-connected PV systems have been installed on federally owned or federally leased facilities in the Washington, D.C. area: (1) Earth Day Park, (2) U.S. Department of Energy Headquarters, (3) the Pentagon, and (4) Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Headquarters. This paper reviews these four urban, grid-connected systems-particularly the issues of siting, permitting, and grid interconnection.