Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has received a $2.3 million U.S. Defense Department contract to build a high-tech solar plant at Edwards Air Force Base. The project will demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of high-concentration photovoltaics at Defense Department installations, and ultimately large utilities and other industrial applications. Such systems involve the use of optics to concentrate solar rays on photovoltaic cells. “We’re honored the Department of Defense has chosen Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne to further demonstrate this revolutionary technology, which provides clean energy and shines a light on greater energy independence and energy security,” said Neeta Patel, director, Energy Systems, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, in a prepared statement. The contract calls for the Canoga Park manufacturer to perform systems and energy storage integration, field layout, and developing and testing of the concentrated photovoltaic and storage hardware. The solar field will use a dozen units of concentrated photovoltaics – each 60 square meters in size – to track the sun from sunrise to sunset and generate 200-kilowatts of power. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, best known for developing rocket engines, is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. of Hartford, Conn.