Lockheed Martin: Transforming a Parking Lot into an Energy-Generating Solar Carport
Background
As part of Lockheed Martin Corporation’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions per dollar of gross profit by 70% by 2030, the organization identified the Sand Lake Road Campus (SLRC) in Orlando, Florida, as an ideal site to convert a parking lot into a renewable energy-generating solar carport. With most employees working remotely during the COVID pandemic period, the parking lot was unused, which enabled the project to be implemented. The 4-acre array was completed at the end of 2021 with a capacity of 2 MW, which is estimated to generate 3,595,000 kWh per year, avoiding $581,000 in utility costs and 1,364 metric tons of CO2 equivalent annually. The carport also offers shade and protection for 453 cars, a much-appreciated employee benefit that contributed to the selection and implementation of this project.
The SLRC solar carport is the third solar photovoltaic (PV) carport project completed by Lockheed Martin. In addition to supporting Lockheed Martin’s sustainability goals, the solar carport was selected because it has a very strong business case. Each year, the project avoids $581,000 in peak demand charges and other utility costs. It also has a 6.5-year payback period, which meets company expectations for an internal rate of return and savings greater than depreciation. Additionally, the Federal Investment Tax Credit for solar energy systems reduces Lockheed Martin’s tax liability by $1,560,000 (26%) of the total project budget of $6 million. Best practices and lessons learned from the first two solar carports were incorporated into the procurement documents for the SLRC project.
Solutions
The solar carport consists of a combination of 400-watt and 425-watt solar panels and 31 inverters. The total system capacity was limited to 2 MW per the Orlando Utilities Commission interconnection limits, which requires that the system capacity be limited to 2 MW per meter. The system will provide enough electricity to power approximately 496 homes annually. Since its activation in December 2021 through May 2024, the solar carport has avoided $800,000 in energy costs and produced 7.6 million kWh.
The solar carport at the SLRC was conceived after reviewing Lockheed Martin’s first two solar carports installed in Florida. Limited parking availability at the site meant the project was challenging to implement until employees began working from home during the pandemic. With less need for parking, the facility team submitted the project for Go Green gated capital funding in March 2020. The Go Green capital funding process is managed by the corporate Go Green team, with considerable input from site teams. Projects that meet certain performance and financial thresholds are earmarked as Go Green gated capital and are added to the respective business area’s overall capital plan. The SLRC solar carport was approved and added to the site’s capital plan for implementation in 2021.
A request for proposal for the design and build services was drafted by the business area buying group and released in September 2020, followed by a reverse bidding auction, which lowered the price by $1.8 million for a total $6 million budget. The project was awarded to the winner of the reverse auction and design and construction occurred throughout 2021. All solar panels and inverters are made in the United States and come with a standard 10-year warranty and a 20-year performance guarantee. While COVID-19 made project implementation possible, supply chain delays were a barrier. The lead times on materials such as switchgear and electrical equipment took almost twice as long as in the previous two solar projects the company implemented.
Other Benefits
A ribbon-cutting event was held to celebrate the solar carport’s completion and an article was released to share the news with all Lockheed Martin employees. In addition to the renewable energy benefits, the carport protects cars from sun and rain and extends the life of the asphalt below. For these reasons, the carport configuration was ultimately chosen over rooftop and ground-mounted options. The project is promoted using an SLRC public dashboard that displays the solar carport’s real-time and historical power and energy production. A kiosk with similar information is currently being installed in the SLRC cafeteria, to keep the advantages of solar energy front and center among employees. The metrics and best practices from this project are shared among Go Green staff in various peer-to-peer meetings coordinated by business areas and the corporate Go Green team. Currently, one additional solar carport and one ground-mounted solar PV system are being considered based on the success of the SLRC project.
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