The U.S. Army announced plans yesterday for a giant solar plant that would trump all but the largest solar array. The Army intends to build a 500-megawatt solar thermal plant at Fort Irwin, California in the Mojave Desert -- an ideal location for a solar installation.

The most powerful operating photovoltaic array in the United States is the 15-megawatt array at Nellis Air Force Base. The move to solar is part U.S. military efforts to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, primarily for strategic purposes. According to Defense News, the U.S. Department of Defense is one of the largest consumers of both fuel and electricity in the world: "110 million barrels of premium fuel and 3.8 billion kilowatts of electricity at a cost of $13.6 billion."

In addition to the plant at Fort Irwin, the Department of Defense is planning a wide variety of alternative energy projects, some of which have already been implemented. However, there is some doubt in the Department of Defense's abilities to carry through: there have been a number of green projects pushed to the side by the U.S. military in the past.

It remains to be seen if Fort Irwin's solar array will become a reality.

Photo — QuiteLucid