A PV-diesel hybrid system for an operational Navy facility on San Clemente Island

In 1992, The Naval Command and Control and Ocean Surveillance Center, in cooperation with the Navy component of the Department of Defense (DoD) PV Review Committee, sponsored a study to determine the feasibility of using photovoltaics to augment the diesel generator-based power plant at the Range Electronic Warfare Simulator (REWS) facility on San Clemente Island. The Navy concluded that the operational, economic, and environmental aspects of utilizing PV justify procurement of this system. The operational benefits include the potential for less reliance on diesel fuel and the ability to operate the system in a standby mode without a diesel genset running constantly. From an economic standpoint, power generated presently at the REWS is expensive-over 40c/kWh. Using DoD-mandated methodology, installing a PV-hybrid system will result in a savings-to-investment ratio of 2.2 and a simple payback period of 5.8 years-well within the DoD guidelines for determining cost competitiveness. When environmental externalities are considered, the savings are even greater