Solar panels will save AFA $1 million annually

<p>The Air Force Academy officially kicked off its decade-long drive to get its power from renewable energy resources Monday, with a “switch flippin’” ceremony for a new solar array.</p>

<p>“This is just the tip of the energy iceberg,” Lt. Gen. Mike Gould, superintendent of the academy, told a large group of local stakeholders at the dedication ceremony.</p>

<p>Gould said the solar panels, which cover 30 acres, represent the academy’s first step toward a goal of getting 100 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2020. The academy gets more than 11 percent of its electricity from the array, and that percentage likely will increase as the academy decreases its reliance on traditional energy sources.</p>