The Dagsboro National Guard armory is now utilizing solar panels.
Solar array panels installed at the Delaware Army National Guard maintenance center and Armory in Dagsboro last year are now operational and delivering peak power of 130 kilowatts back to the energy grid. The installation of the solar panels is now complete on the lower (flat) roof of the fleet vehicle maintenance building.
The big news is that the Army National Guard is now able to send power to the Delaware Electric Cooperative grid in Sussex County — which required some upgrades and changes to the power transmission grid to accept. DEC serves 84,000 customers in Sussex and Kent counties.
The Field (Vehicle) Maintenance Shop, or FMS 5, opened on July 13, 2018, nearly six years ago.
“The Dagsboro Readiness Center array is at 130 KW peak. There is also a 30 KW array on top of the FMS facility on that site,” said Sean Vernon, energy program manager for the Delaware Army National Guard.
A solar array is a collection of multiple solar panels that generate electricity, and a southern facing array, like the one on FMS 5, has the maximum output. The sun hits the photovoltaic cells within the panels, setting electrons into motion.
“Throughout the state, we have about 1.5 MW of solar capacity installed,” said Vernon, who has been in his position for more than five years in the construction, facilities and management directorate.
“There is no storage on the grid,” said Vernon. “So, you have to work with the utility to ensure they can receive the power and there is a place for the energy. With our new inverters, you can limit them to not export to the grid at certain times.”
“You can program the inverter to use all the energy right at our site,” he said of the Dagsboro facility. “You can curtail exports now, whereas before, a few years back, you could not hold the export of energy back. You can now set an export limit, so they are not back-feeding power to the grid if the utility does not have a place for it.”
“Delaware Electric Co-op has some public information available to see if there is room on the grid for your own building installation,” said Vernon.
The Dagsboro facility is designed to meet directed organizational and equipment changes within the Delaware Army National Guard (DARNG) within the updated force structure, according to Public Affairs Officer Maj. Bernie Kale.
“The new facility is designed to support all assigned vehicles specifications from the other DARNG Field Maintenance Shops,” according to Col. Fred Cost, DARNG’s director of facilities.
“This building is designed for at least 25 years, and we expect at least 25 years on it,” said Cost. “But don’t be surprised if 40 years from now this building is still here.”
The Army National Guard is following Army protocols on the use of renewable energy to help power the major energy use these bases require.
“The time to address climate change is now,” said Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth in her letter in the Army Climate Strategy directive. “The effects of climate change have taken a toll on supply chains, damaged our infrastructure, and increased risks to Army soldiers and families due to natural disasters and extreme weather.”
“The Army must adapt across our entire enterprise and purposefully pursue greenhouse gas mitigation strategies to reduce climate risks,” said Wormuth. “If we do not take action now, across our installations, acquisition and logistics, and training, our options to mitigate these risks will become more constrained with each passing year. The Army will lead by example.”
“We will tap into the creativity, capabilities and commitment of Army professionals operating on every continent,” said Wormuth. “We will use our buying power to drive change in industry and leverage best practices from many sources. We will engage with local communities and foreign partners to ensure mutual readiness and security in a rapidly changing environment. The Army is on track to build on this progress.”
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