The 3 kW photovoltaic (PV) system, attached to the railing running alongside the large wall to your left, converts the sun's energy directly into electricity. The array will produce up to 4,500 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, enough to run a typical U.S. home. During its expected 20 year lifetime, this PV system will prevent the release of approximately 90 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The array was installed for Earth Day, 1999, as part of the President's Million Solar Roofs Initiative, by staff from the Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Lab and DOE headquarters. It is the third photovoltaic installation at DOE's headquarters facility. The first 6 kW system was installed in 1990 on the Day Care Center, and the second, a 1 kW system, was installed on Earth Day, 1997 at Earth Day Park (on Independence Ave, just east of the James Forrestal Building).
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