GSA’s Rocky Mountain Region formally dedicated the Denver Federal Center’s (DFC) $6.9 million solar park June 26. The park was completed in January 2008 and will produce 10 percent of the DFC’s peak electrical energy demand, power equivalent to that used by 145 homes over the course of a year.

As part of the ceremony, Xcel Energy of Colorado presented GSA with a check in the amount of $200,000 for the purchase of Solar Renewable Energy Credits. Speakers included Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr., GSA Acting Administrator David Bibb, Mr. Fred Stoffel, Vice President of Marketing for Xcel Energy; and GSA Rocky Mountain Regional Administrator Leslie Plomondon.

The Solar Park is composed of 6,192 individual photovoltaic solar panels. Each panel is rated at 190 watts and utilizes polycrystalline silicon. The park produces 1.6 million kilowatts of energy each year. Due to this energy output, 1,244 metric tons of CO2 are not emitted into the atmosphere, and 6.5 railcars of coal are not burned each day.

The DFC is owned and managed by GSA. Located on a one square mile campus, it currently supports over 6,000 employees from more than 25 federal agencies and bureaus. The Center’s vision is to be the most sustainable campus in the country by 2020.