U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Solar Energy Technologies Program

2007 Solar America Showcases

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Program awarded in-kind technical assistance to the following unique solar installation projects through its Solar America Showcases program.

City of San Jose (San Jose, Calif.) – The City of San Jose identified eight city-owned buildings suitable for Solar America Showcase installations, with a combined installed capacity of approximately 2 megawatts. The buildings are in highly visible downtown areas and draw large crowds. The buildings include the Children's Discovery Museum, the Tech Museum of Innovation, the San Jose McEnergy Convention Center, the City of San Jose Employee Parking Garage, and the Municipal Water Storage/Reservoir Tanks.

For each of the eight proposed buildings, the technical assistance team conducted site evaluations. This process included technology and economic feasibility assessments that were submitted to city officials for review. In addition, the team assisted city officials in developing a solar procurement process and advised the selecting officials on contracting and system design best practices. Since this award, San Jose has also become a Solar America City.

Photo of the blue dome on the roof of the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. Visible in the foreground are a chessboard-like fountain and grass and in the background are tall buildings framed by blue sky.

The City of San Jose began installing a 185-kilowatt solar electric array on the roof of its Tech Museum of Innovation in late September 2008. The city plans to install solar systems on government buildings throughout San Jose.


Forest City Military Communities (Pearl Harbor, Hawaii) – Forest City, a national large-scale housing and urban developer, deployed 477 new 225-watt solar PV energy panels on two community center buildings in the Halsey Terrace neighborhood, located in the Ohana Military Community development of Pearl Harbor. In addition, almost 6,500 Forest City homes feature solar hot water systems.

The assistance awarded to Forest City Military Communities in Hawaii funded over 20 technical assistance documents. These addressed a wide range of questions about a variety of solar technology integration issues, including solar hot water performance modeling, best practices for retrofitting PV systems into existing housing developments, and best practices for designing "solar-friendly" planned communities.

The work conducted under this award is highly replicable to other planned communities in the United States. It also laid the foundation for an expanded partnership under Forest City Hawaii's 2009 Solar America Showcases award.

Photo of solar panels on roof of the Halsey Terrace Community Center, which is surrounded by green grass and a kid's playground. Clouds and trees can be seen in the background.

This Forest City military community in Honolulu, Hawaii, uses high-efficiency solar PV panels installed on the roof of its community center to power 10 homes. Forest City Hawaii has also installed solar hot water systems on over 6,500 of its homes.


Orange County Convention Center (Orlando, Fla.) – The Orange County government installed a 1-megawatt solar PV system on the roof of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida—the largest solar electric system in the Southeast—with technical assistance through the Solar America Showcases activity. The OCCC is the second largest convention center in the country, with nearly 1.1 million annual visitors, making it an ideal location to showcase a commercial-scale PV system.

Photo of the Orange County Convention Center in Florida with palm trees and grass visible in the foreground.

The Orange County government installed a 1 MW solar PV array in 2009 on the roof of its Orange County Convention Center, the second largest convention center in the country.

Northeast Denver Housing Center (Denver, Colo.) – The Northeast Denver Housing Center installed 101 kilowatt solar PV systems on 20 permanently affordable housing units, which will stabilize electricity bills for low-income residents. In addition, the housing center developed a solar installer training curriculum for low-income residents and is developing a case study identifying best practices for similar communities.