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home > February 2008 issue > article
The Army tests solar
The Army’s Communications-Electronics
Research, Development and Engineering Center
runs two solar projects that emphasize soldier-portable
systems.
The Soldier Portable Photovoltaic Power Pack, or
SP4, provides 55 watts and is used to charge 2590
military batteries. Those batteries are primarily
used to keep communications equipment running.
The SP4 folds into an 11-inch-by 9-inch package
that can be carried in a rucksack.
CERDEC’s other solar venture is a AA battery
charger that can be used with nickel metal hydride
or cadmium sulfide batteries. The solar charger
can power small radios, Global Positioning System
units and personal items, such as handheld game
systems.
Global Solar Energy created both devices for the
Army. They are based on commercial products. The
company adapted its solar technology to meet the
Army’s specific needs, said Amber Kuhn, a chemical
engineer at the battery branch of CERDEC’s
Army Power Division.
More than 800 SP4s and 200 AA battery chargers
have been issued for free to the field, Kuhn said.
The free program has ended for the SP4s but continues
for the AA chargers. Army units can now purchase
an SP4 for $1,213 and a AA battery charger
for $191.
Kuhn said feedback from the field has been positive.
She said contractors have come up with different
ways of using the solar technology. In Iraq, an
SP4 is used to charge a battery that powers a
rooftop surveillance camera. With the solar panel
keeping the battery charged, no one has to go to
the roof to change the battery — and expose themselves
to possible sniper fire in the process.
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