WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) could generate 7,000 megawatts (MW) of solar energy — equivalent to the output of seven nuclear power plants — on four military bases located in the California desert, according to a study released by DOD’s Office of Installations and Environment.

The year-long study, conducted by the consultancy ICF International, looked at seven military bases in California and two in Nevada. It finds that, even though 96 percent of the surface area of the nine bases is unsuited for solar development because of military use, endangered species, and other factors, the solar-compatible area is nevertheless large enough to generate more than 30 times the electricity consumed by the California bases, or about 25 percent of the renewable energy that the state of California is requiring utilities to use by 2015.