Balfour Beatty Completes 10.55 MW Solar Project and Energy Efficiency Upgrades at Naval Housing Communities Across the US

May 7, 2024
In total, these projects will help reduce energy and water consumption, generating nearly $3 million in utility savings by 2025 to be reinvested into military housing communities

Balfour Beatty Communities, an operator of residential real estate in the multifamily, student, and military housing sectors across the US, has completed two projects within the company’s Navy housing portfolio supporting the Navy’s energy resilience and climate goals.

The company has developed a 10.55 MW project to install rooftop solar systems across the Navy housing communities located at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Air Station Key West, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Naval Air Station Whiting Field, and Naval Air Station Mayport in Florida. The fully operational project brings the company’s total solar projects developed for military housing to more than 40 MW. 

“It is important that we continue to modernize our homes and infrastructure to ensure we meet the needs of Navy families today and into the future,” said Thomas C. McKelvey, Public Private Venture Director, AM5 Branch Head, Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast. “These energy and utility projects directly align with the Navy’s unwavering commitment to energy efficiency, resilience, and sustainability and demonstrate the value of our partnership with Balfour Beatty.”

Balfour Beatty has also inaugurated a rooftop solar project at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine, which will bring about 1 MW of capacity to the housing community.

Additionally, the company developed a $31 million Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) in partnership with ENGIE Services US to improve energy and water efficiency in the housing communities at 11 Navy installations in the southeastern US. 

The project includes upgrades to high-efficiency HVAC systems, improved weatherization sealing, new water fixtures, and LED lighting for more than 5,000 homes. This will help reduce energy and water consumption, generating nearly $3 million in utility savings by 2025 to be reinvested into military housing communities.

“These projects not only reflect our dedication to innovative investment in military housing but also our commitment to advancing the Navy’s resiliency and energy security goals,” stated Ed Lopes, Vice President of Project Development for Balfour Beatty Communities’ Navy housing portfolio. “These efforts will also generate long-term value as utility savings are reinvested into our communities for renovations and other quality-of-life improvements for our service members and their families.”

About the Author

EnergyTech Staff

Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

He can be reached at [email protected]

EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.