Operational Base Energy Smarts Finally Emerging - Bigtime

I few weeks ago I posted on "Hybrid Hopes for Greatly Reducing Operational Base Fuel Requirements"

Since then, two more things have come my way.  One was a note from DOD Energy friend and guru Scott Sklar of the DC-based Stella Group, who wrote thusly: 

I asked energy integrator MILSPRAY to bring the unit (mentioned in the post above) to Arlington two weeks ago for the military folks from the different services to 'kick the tires'.  This unit powered the corrosion facility (MCRF) in Quantico, VA from July - October (14 weeks) last year and the fuel savings versus a standard generator was 78.6% (wow), and the the same set-up at 29 Palms, CA. I am beginning to see better-engineered systems that can stand-alone or interact with on-site diesel generators seamlessly.

This is heavy duty news coming from Scott.

Also just received the DOE's Smart and Green Energy (SAGE) for Basecamps final report and it aligns quite nicely with the observations from the previous post. You can read the full document HERE, but just below you'll find the most important bits in summary form.

Walmart Signals the Way Forward for Facilities Energy: Lessons for DOD Installation Energy?

Walmart was mentioned prominently in the 2008 Defense Science Board (DSB) report on Energy. Considered an energy management exemplar at the time, many of the giant company's best practices have been promoted as DOD objectives since that time.

Here's how the DSB worded it 5 years ago:

The Task Force was struck by the contrast between the energy demand data collected by DOD and that collected by another very large energy consuming entity – Wal-Mart. If a single freezer cabinet door remains open too long at an individual store, an alarm is triggered at Wal-Mart’s headquarters in Bentonville, AR. Wal-Mart uses detailed demand and consumption data to inform corporate wide decisions that affect energy demand including capital investments, maintenance policies and operational procedures.

We've clearly made progress since then, but Walmart is now upping the ante with its recent announcement of very  aggressive new energy efficiency and self-sufficiency goals. As reported by Energy modernization expert Jesse Berst from a Walmart press release:

CEO Mike Duke [said] the company intends to:

• Produce or procure 7 billion KWh of renewable energy every year (up 600% from 2010 levels) 

• Reduce the energy intensity of its buildings by 20% compared to 2010 levels

• Install solar on at least 1,000 rooftops by 2020 (it has 200 in place or in development now)

• Increase LED usage indoors and outdoors

• Be supplied 100% by renewable energy by 2020

Holy smokes.  And there's no reason to believe Walmart won't hit these targets.

Now questions for you: should the DOD try to keep pace?  Can it?  You can see the full article HERE.

Mabus and Anderson Rock NPR

DoD Energy leadership, in and outside the institution, are of continued interest to the public at large. The impact of the Department’s efforts are recognized and appreciated. Two recent interviews on NPR’s Science Friday with Ira Flatow featured Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus (pictured) and BG(R) Steve Anderson.

Mabus is well known for his aggressive stance on energy for the Navy and Anderson was the champion of energy demand reduction when he served as GEN Petraus’ senior loggie. Steve worked tirelessly to find ways to reduce fuel use by finding the best approaches to reduce electricity requirements and therefore get trucks off the road.

The interview is available here. Certainly worth a listen. Steve Anderson makes me look shy and retiring when it comes to his critique of current policy. Keep up the fire!

Strategies to Reduce DOD Building Energy Use by 50%

DOD manages over two billion square feet of building space. According to DOE, “Residential and commercial buildings account for almost 39 percent of total U.S. energy consumption and 38 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.” With the very aggressive goals established for energy reduction in DOD over the next several years, this sector must be considered carefully. Vince Marshall of Cherokee Energy Management & Construction took a look at a couple recent reports, one from Amory Lovin’s Rocky Mountain Institute and the other from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It’s a good day for Colorado! Highly recommend reading for Energy Managers and Commanders responsible for making energy goals. Read on…….

Building energy consumption is a significant portion of the total energy consumed by DOD. Within the past few weeks, studies by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) have focused on whole building approaches to reducing building energy use.

Rocky Mountain Institute’s- Whole Building Retrofits: A Gateway to Climate Stabilization. Is a high level approach to create significant energy savings by looking at a building as an entity and not as individual systems. Many times designers, engineers and even building owners see building systems such as space cooling, heating and domestic hot water heating as having independent functions and not how they can all work together.

It is extremely cost effective to upgrade major HVAC systems by “piggybacking” on planned capital improvements. That is to identify ageing systems and upgrade to a more efficient system when that unit reaches the end of its useful life. Often we see a “Replace in Kind” approach with whatever was there before instead of spending a small amount of capital to significantly increase efficiency. Paybacks on these marginal expenses are superb.

NREL’s Technical Support Document: Strategies for 50% Energy Savings in Large Office Buildings is a 163 page, in-depth road map to attain a 50% reduction in energy use for large commercial buildings. This is as compared to ASHRAE 90.1 2004/ 2007 editions. The report is lengthy, but easy to read and makes good sense.

The following are summaries from this document:

• Achieving 50% energy savings cost effectively requires an integrated building design—an approach that analyzes buildings as holistic systems rather than as disconnected collections of individually engineered subsystems. We analyze the complex interactions between building systems and ensure the building will operate as efficiently as possible. 
• Careful attention is paid to simulated comfort indices to ensure indoor environmental quality is not sacrificed in the interest of energy savings or costs 
• We recommend off-the-shelf technologies that are available from multiple sources, as opposed to technologies or techniques that are available only in limited quantities or from one manufacturer. 

The following energy efficiency measures played important roles in reaching the 50% energy savings target:

• The baseline hydronic VAV system was replaced with radiant heated and cooled slab ceilings with DOAS for ventilation. ( Dedicated Outside Air System) 
• The DOAS design was tailored to address climate-specific requirements as follows: sensible and latent energy recovery equipment was used in humid climates, sensible energy recovery equipment was used in marine and very cold climates, and indirect evaporative cooling (IDEC) was included in dry climates. 
• Waterside economizing was incorporated in dry climates. 
• Lighting power density was reduced to 0.63 W/ft2 in offices spaces and occupancy sensors were assumed in infrequently occupied zones. 
• Day lighting controls tuned to maintain a 27.9 fc (300 lux) set point. 
• Entrance vestibules and envelope air barriers were included to reduce infiltration. These features were important to avoid condensation on radiant cooling surfaces in humid climates. 
• High efficiency boilers (condensing, nominally 98% efficient), chillers (COP of 7), air distribution units (69% total fan efficiency), and service water heating (SWH) equipment (90% thermal efficiency) was installed. 
• Façade WWR (Window to Wall Ratio) was reduced to 20% and window properties were modified to reduce solar gain, improve overall envelope insulation, and reduce construction costs. In low-rise buildings, double pane windows with low-emissivity film and argon fill (U-0.235, SHGC-0.416, VLT-0.750) were installed; in high-rise buildings, double pane windows with low-emissivity film and tinted glass constructions (U-0.288, SHGC-0.282, VLT- 0.55) were used.
• Exterior wall insulation was added in cold climates (up to R-19.5 continuous insulation (c.i.) for the low-rise case and R-22.5 c.i. for the high-rise case). 
• Total plug loads were reduced by 23% to 0.68 W/ft2 (7.3 W/m2) by purchasing high efficiency electronic equipment and employing control strategies to eliminate plug loads when equipment was not being used. 

As we all strive to meet annual energy reduction goals, these are two really good articles filled with solid ideas and it is worth your time to read them.

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[i] U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), 2008 Buildings Energy Data Book. Prepared for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by D&R International, 2008.

DOD and DOE Pledge Tighter Teaming on Energy

I've met DOE folks knowledgeable about DOD energy efforts in the past (certainly this is the case with renewables, microgrid and energy efficiency activities at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar). And conversely, know young DODers with some DOE/NREL time under their belts. Those interactions have proven fruitful, because now the two biggest players in USG energy are formalizing their intentions to work as a team on energy on multiple levels, and across the entire portfolio of energy issues:

... Signed by Deputy Secretary Poneman and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn, [the Memorandum of Understanding or MOU] covers efforts in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy, water efficiency, fossil fuels, alternative fuels, efficient transportation technologies and fueling infrastructure, grid security, smart grid, storage, waste-to-energy, basic science research, mobile/deployable power, small modular reactor nuclear energy, and related areas.

In particular, seems like the on-base nuclear notion is still going strong, especially given the fact that regulatory factors are discussed, not just technical:

Collaboration will include NRC review and licensing of nuclear power plants that are deployed for DOD purposes, and are located on or adjacent to DOD US installations.

The DOD also offers up one of its biggest assets for this effort - its CONUS bases:

The Department of Defense aims to speed innovative energy and conservation technologies from laboratories to military end users, and it uses military installations as a test bed to demonstrate and create a market for innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.

To me, the ability to use our many hundreds of bases, each a small-to-medium sized town, as energy and energy efficiency technology and process labs is a huge win. But then again, I don't live on a base anymore.

Partnership announcements in the business world are often more about marketing than substance. But we've been seeing them with uncommon frequency around energy matters in the normally tightly siloed Federal government recently (see post on USN and USDA pairing announcement, here). Let's hope the sum of the parts helps all orgs involved go further/faster than was previously possible.

Wonder Twins image courtesy of Wikipedia

Conference Alert: GovEnergy 2010, Y'all

What: the biggest conference of the year focused on the intersection of US government (with a heavy dose of DOD) and energy (particularly facilities) matters. Big enough this year, in fact, to draw Amory Lovins as a keynote.

Where: Dallas, TX at the Dallas Convention Center

When: 15-18 August (a great time to visit the Lone Star State, don't you think?)

Why: as with all conferences, the speakers are the draw, but much of the real value comes from sharing war stories, best practices and lessons learned with peers in the trenches. With GovEnergy, many of the attendees are facilities energy managers or similar. Comparing notes on renewables integration and financing issues, energy efficiency initiatives and targets, and emerging Smart Grid and Smart Grid security matters. They've got a lot on their plates as power equipment that used to be protected via isolation is now increasingly getting connected to IT networks and, as discussed here on the sister blog, is being targeted by adversaries.

How: more info here at the GovEnergy 2010 site

Photo credit: n thomas at Flickr.com

Bullish on Smart-BEAR for Better Expeditionary Power Generation and Management

This is still in the development stages, so don't get too excited. But Lockheed's BEAR generator is proven, so it's not as big a leap as it might seem at first. This will be renewables supplementing diesel, plus power management, and together with storage, an enabler of a true tactical microgrid. From the press release:

Key ... capabilities include operating in both grid-tied and grid-independent modes. The system will independently sustain critical power loads when the primary grid is unavailable, supplementing conventional diesel generation with solar and wind power. The system is also designed for rapid deployment and will fit in standard shipping containers.

And with SkyBuilt as a partner for the mobile renewables integration and packaging, this indeed looks promising.Skybuilt may be familiar to long-time readers of this blog, and was first covered here back in 2008.

Here's the full release, and while we're at it, you can see the Air Force's own statement of objectives for this system right here. Oh, and here's why the base systems is called BEAR: it's actually "Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resources." Acronym writers working overtime .... When ready to field, hopefully the other services will get to try Smart BEARs as well.

Air Force Fusing Operational and Facilities Energy Strategies in 2010

Other than pondering the potential future energy demand impact of a having a squillion UAVs in the air 24/7, you may have noticed the Air Force hasn't had much of a presence on this blog for a while. Well, seems like they've been hunkered down getting their ducks lined up cause now all of a sudden, they've leapt to a DOD-leading position on energy.

When you really think about it, we wouldn't have any CONUS bases if "facilities" were not essential for accomplishing "the mission". Energy actions by DOD orgs not in service of the mission are not sustainable, and we've been picking up multiple signals lately that USAF senior leadership sees integrated, enterprise-wide energy management as integral to the Air Force mission, not just feel-good window dressing.

Setting the Stage: DASD Robyn's Testimony on Energy Role in Mission Assurance
Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Installations & Environment, Dorothy Robyn, had this to say to the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) in February of this year. First, acknowledging the "brittle grid" problem facing bases:

Installation energy management is key to mission assurance. According to the Defense Science Board, DOD’s reliance on a fragile commercial grid to deliver electricity to its installations places the continuity of critical missions at serious and growing risk. Most installations lack the ability to manage their demand for and supply of electrical power and are thus vulnerable to intermittent and/or prolonged power disruption due to natural disasters, cyberattacks and sheer overload of the grid.

... and this calling for moving from a compliance-driven slow march to an empowered mindset of continual improvement targeting real mission assurance actions:

Over the last five years, the Department has steadily reduced energy consumption per square foot at our permanent installations, largely in response to statutory and regulatory goals. While continuing that very positive trend, it is time for us to adapt our approach to installation energy management from one that is primarily focused on compliance to one that is focused on long-term ... mission assurance.

Long term mission assurance - you've got to love that. The Air Force now seems to be moving in that direction.

2010 AF Posture Statement

Here are the most senior seniors in the Department saying what they're going to do. See page 19 of this doc: it doesn't get any more simple or sweeping than this:

The Air Force as an institution will make an "institutional effort to consider energy management in all that we do"].

Back to the mission point, though. And it's that "all we do" is about the mission and the mission only.

2011 USAF Budget

It's always been a reliable axiom that if you want to know what's really going on, follow the money. To that end, you can see energy policy achieving much more prominence in the Air Force's budget documents for the coming year (see pages 67-68). I note this statement in particular:

Energy use in the battlespace drives monetary costs and operational risks; therefore, it is essential to ensure it is appropriately considered from a systems and concept of operations viewpoint.

You'll see it also comes right out and says the AF is making energy-related KPPs and FBCF factors central to how it does business. Saying it is one thing; implementing it is another, but there's no doubt this is encouraging.

The USAF Energy Forum III
All of this goodness will be showcased in USAF's next big energy event, and I've got just two things to say about this forum, coming up fast on May 27 and 28 in DC. First, its strategy of focusing on Major Command (MAJCOM) energy efforts means that while we're still in the early days, energy management is truly being "operationalized". That says a lot of about the effectiveness of the AF's culture change strategy.

Second, as the brochure says, the theme is "Energy as an Operations Enabler." But then note in the list of topics to be covered there is no distinction between operational and non-operational. What's implied, then, is that if it's not about the mission, then it's not something the AF is working on. This may be a subtle point, but to me it speaks volumes about the maturation of USAF's energy policy development. Click here for more info on the Forum including how to register.

Photo Credit: Lance Cheung on Flickr

Marines Expedite Expeditionary Energy Efforts

There's book knowledge and there's what you know by doing. And everyone knows the difference. While the Marines could surround themselves with academic experts and consultants from industry to improve their energy knowledge (and I'm not saying they're not!), their focus is on learning by doing. In the field. Where it counts. And it's all being driven from the top via the hard charging Commandant, General James T. Conway.

As is their mission (and fervent desire) in combat ops, the Marines are first in on expeditionary energy. It's no surprise; we've see it coming here on the blog with write-ups here, here, here, here, here here, and here.

The Marine strategy for transforming its energy management strategy is centered on five themes:

I. Technology is available today, but it is not focused on the Marine expeditionary problem. The Marine strategy must foster a pipeline of commercial solutions

II. Apply technology intelligently; take a systems approach

III. New behavior is key; technology alone won’t solve the problem

IV. Top level leadership and integration into Marine Corps strategy is essential

V. Leverage capabilities, solutions and lessons learned from across the Marine Corps, Navy, and the other Services, as well as the Department of Energy (DOE), CIA

These are all on target of course, but don't forget the reason we're really talking about it now is number IV - leadership. Energy management initiatives began in the field, but until folks like Conway picked up the ball and began running with it, we were still moving in slow motion. Now the crawl's become a walk and is showing signs of becoming a smart sprint very soon. There's a good deal of energy activity elsewhere in DOD, but OSD and the other services should scramble to keep up, learn, adapt and apply these concepts.

Click here for a fuller account from NDU's "Expeditionary Energy Roundtable" by NDU's Energy Security lead, Richard Andres. And for more, read about the USMC Experimental Forward Operating Base (exFOB) here.

Photo Credit: Flickr Creative Commons

Army Thinks Big re: Vehicular Energy Management

Apr 16 Update: remembered LTG Vane presented  great deck at MORS Power & Energy workshop and just found it.  Called "The Operational Energy Challenge; you can download it here.

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This ain't your grandpa's Jeep. A recent article in AviationWeek titled "Watt-Rich Vehicles Will Boost Capability" highlights some clear thinking by an Army energy leader I got to hear speak at a great MORS conference on DOD energy issues late 2009. We're well past more speculation on what might be; LTG Michael Vane and others in uniform and in industry are clearly moving out on tactical energy capabilities. I especially like the objective of using the vehicle's electrical capabilities to lighten the battery burden on the individual soldier as well as reduce the generator-hauling burdens on loggies:

The direction we want to go is twice as much power on a vehicle and half the weight on a soldier, to get us away from having to cart around 6-8 batteries. When it comes to vehicles, there is a critical need to get away from the logistical tail that dragging around extra generators brings to a mission. [Army Capabilities Integration Center] ARCIC wants to build that generating capability into a truck, as opposed to relying on external sources like generators.

Then there's this part re: new tactical energy management systems from BAE. I'd say you have to like the improvements you get with the application of these approaches and technologies:

Critical to the expeditionary nature of combat, as well as the multiple humanitarian and peacekeeping missions the military has been tasked with in recent years, the power-management system also has the ability to produce 30 kw. of export power. This is essential for operations in places like Haiti where, after the recent earthquake, infrastructure was destroyed and millions of people were left without electricity and clean water. By exporting so much power, one vehicle is able to perform tasks such as powering a command center, field hospital or water-purification system—all without having to haul around generators and the fuel needed to run them, which adds time, expense and complexity to the logistics chain.

There's more too. Recommend you read through to the end. Not sure whether present or future energy metrics are playing a role here, or whether it's just good common sense plus innovative engineering getting together to accomplish some big breakthrough things. Either way, this work by the Army (and also the Marines) is one of the best developments of the year so far. Let's watch it. And thanks again, Ollie.

Lovins on DOD Energy Opportunities in 2010

Rocky Mountain Institute founder Amory Lovins has been in this long game longer than anyone, and much of the credit for DOD's current momentum on energy can be traced directly to his decades-long leadership and perseverance. So it's great news that NDU's Joint Force Quarterly journal has just published his current assessment and recommendations for the Department's energy strategy. (Note: because it's so timely and topical, you'll find it front and center (actually, top and right) on the DOD Energy Blog for the rest of this year.)

Biggest points of emphasis in this piece are deep drill-downs on the two new new strategic vectors (or capabilities) Lovins has been championing for some time time: endurance and resilience. The business case for the first begins early in the article:

Nobody knows how much oil is in the ground: governments, which often do not know or will not transparently reveal what they have, hold about 94 percent of reserves. But DOD, like the United States, has three compelling reasons to get off oil regardless: security, climate, and cost.... DOD’s unnecessarily inefficient use of oil makes it move huge quantities of fuel from purchase to use, imposing high costs in blood, treasure, and combat effectiveness.

Endurance gets you platforms less dependent on oil logistics, freeing soldiers up for offense vs. the defense that massive fuel convoys demand. Greater weighting of resilience, on the other hand, would liberate DOD bases from their current dangerous over-dependence on commercial power in CONUS and overseas. Once broadly implemented via renewables and the smart and micro-grids, it would also reduce our little-discussed vulnerability to trees and rodents:

The US electrical grid ... is very capital-intensive, complex, technologically unforgiving, usually reliable, but inherently brittle. It is responsible for 98–99 percent of U.S. power failures, and occasionally blacking out large areas within seconds—because the grid requires exact synchrony across subcontinental areas and relies on components taking years to build in just a few factories or one (often abroad), and can be interrupted by a lightning bolt, rifle bullet,malicious computer program, untrimmed branch, or errant squirrel.

The title is "DOD's Energy Challenge as Strategic Opportunity" and I highly recommend you read the whole thing here.

Conference Alert: USMC Expeditionary Power & Energy Symposium

Just like you think they would, the Marines are first out the door on energy in 2010, hitting the ground running in a couple of weeks with an energy conference in New Orleans. See specs below.

What: "Lightening the Load: Reducing the Footprint in the Expeditionary Environment"
Where: Marriott New Orleans
When: January 25 - 27, 2010
How: Click here for more info and to register

Where to stay now that the Marriott is full:

The Hotel Monteleone
214 Royal St., New Orleans, LA 70130
Front Desk: (504) 523-3341
Reservations: 1 (800) 217-2033

More guidance from NDIA: To get the discounted NDIA rate, ask for the "NDIA - Government" or "NDIA - Industry" room block. If you are arriving before Saturday, the 23rd, or checking out after Wednesday, the 27th, please call the hotel front desk number to book your stay.

Overview: Power and energy shortages and dependencies are posing a greater threat to national security and changing expeditionary warfare. Tomorrow’s Marine Corps will require greater power and energy efficiency and self-sufficiency to operate over long distances in austere environments. To meet these challenges, today’s Marine Corps is exploring and seeking a wide range of solutions to:

• Lighten the load on today’s warfighters
• Reduce its overall footprint in Afghanistan
• Lessen energy consumption and dependence on fossil fuels
• Achieve energy efficiency in combat zones and expeditionary environments
  

Get there if you can ...

Photo Credit: DVIDS on Flickr

Year in Review: Top 10 DOD Energy Events of 2009

Not sure if you'll agree, but from my vantage point, this was the first year that merits a DOD Energy top ten. Folks who've been at this enterprise a long time, like Tom Morehouse and Chris DiPetto at OSD (and a small handful of others in the Services), have been doing energy grunt work without a heck of a lot of support or credit (that's my take, not theirs). Over the past decade there have been isolated wins and signs of improvement, but nothing sustained.

But this year something changed, and I have to give credit to the increasing strength of the convoy connection. It's finally shown everyone that being smart and proactive on energy issues isn't the domain of Birkenstock wearing, granola eating, tree hugging peace-nicks. The clear (and easy to understand and communicate) link between fuel convoys and 1) causalities, 2) costs, and 3) mission degradation.

I'm sure I'm leaving a lot out (that's a good thing). But without further adieu, here's the list for the year, in no particular order:

1. Gigantic Army solar installation off the ground at Fort Irwin in California's Mojave Desert to advance conversation beyond Nellis. Score - Fort Irwin: 500+ Megawatts, Nellis AFB: 14 Megawatts
2. Boeing's high tech, super efficient 787 Dreamliner finally flew. Basis for future tanker/transport? 
3. Convoy lessons brought the concept of proactive energy planning fully out of its Birkenstock phase ... for everyone.
4. Energy audits in Afghanistan commence with Marines. It's called MEAT, for Marine Energy Assessment Team, see here and here. 
5. Like DARPA to advance US space tech post Sputnik, ARPA-E's mission is to turbocharge US competitiveness in energy tech (ET).
6. 3 of the 4 Services hold major confs exclsively on energy issues. The Navy version in particular generated a huge amount of great info.
7. The first Military Operational Research Society (MORS) workshop on power and energy brought analysts together to advance thinking on energy security and energy metrics in requirements and logistics planning process. We're expecting some out-brief artifacts soon.
8. Energy war games all over the place, including NDU and GovEnergy and more.
9. Candidate to fill the long-open Director for Operational Energy Plans and Programs (DOEPP) position finally nominated.
10. Self promotion alert: my paper on operational energy metrics got published by NDU/JFQ.

I believe we've got the Mo now, and 2010 promises to build on 2009 with international conferences on military energy with the UK's MOD and others, more energy audits and tactical renewables deployments in theater, and a DOEPP approved and up and running, connecting DOD energy islands by providing leadership and strategy from the center. I'm looking forward to seeing this play out, and will cover it all here ... after a short break. Happy Holidays to all !!!

Air Force Academy Charts a Clean Tech Energy Future

I attended the Air Force's premier institution of higher learning in 1980's and remember the modernist buildings and breathtaking landscape (breathtaking in part, due to the scarcity of O2 at 7,500 feet above sea level). In between countless push ups and keeping my chin in, I remember wondering in the long winter hours how much they spend to they heat the place given all that glass.

Well, as this energy plan summarizes, senior leaders and facilities managers at USAFA have been thinking about how to turn some of their current energy liabilities into advantages by making the most of MILCON energy efficiency-related construction programs, as well as the decent solar, wind and hydro characteristics of the sprawling, front range Colorado Springs campus.

Here's how they say it:

The Air Force Academy is positioned to lead the charge in energy conservation, conversion away from fossil fuels, and research into new, innovative renewable energy technologies. We have 18,500 acres of natural resources including forests, water, solar, wind, geothermal, kinetics and biomass. Our team includes committed leadership, talented research scientists and engineers, dedicated energy management professionals and a base populace that understands the importance of energy independence.

This plan delves into the Air Force Academy’s goal to be a “Net-Zero” electricity installation and to reduce our carbon footprint from facility and transportation sources. Our broad objectives are challenging, yet achievable:

• Become a “Net-Zero” electricity installation by the end of calendar year 2015
• Meet all federal energy reduction mandates
• Play a leading role in renewable energy research
• Embody each cadet with an understanding that energy must be a consideration in all we do

Some great projects with tons of potential for cadet learning and culture change. All of which should impact the AF more broadly as the grads move out into leadership positions in the "Real Air Force". Here's the full plan for your review ... it's pretty ambitious ... looking forward to watching them pull this off.

More (Yes, More) Materials from the 2009 Navy Energy Conference

This is the DOD energy conference that keeps on giving. They said they would do this and now here they going doing just what they said ... I like that!

More information is now available on the new website, as well as video highlights of each day of the Naval Energy Forum. In addition to all speaker/panelist presentation materials, there are now links to download:

• All materials used for the Information Exchange
• The Task Force Energy working group fact sheets
• Breakout room summaries
• The Naval Energy Forum program
• Naval Energy: A Strategic Approach

Click here for access to any/all of the above. Thank you ONR.

More on MORS: Learning to Ask the Right Operational Energy Questions

I must stop using the acronym MORS (for military operations research society) in post titles as it's tempting me to unleash some of the worst puns in my brief blogging career. Here's the previous one, and I'll risk it just this one last time because this conference is something beyond the DOD Energy norm.

One of the best things about this event is that it brings DOD's analytic community together to engage on energy issues face-to-face. Namely, progress it seeks to make involves improvements in risk assessment, prioritization of energy investment and work, and mainstreaming DOD energy considerations so they are understood from a capabilities perspective. 

Along the way, some pointed questions on energy will be asked, and from these, still more are sure to arise. Here's a few likely starters for you:

• How are DOD leaders and action officers deciding what's most important to do first, and what the desired effects should be? 
• What are the rationales for how scarce resources are being allocated today? 
• Do the requirements people have a basic understanding of what's available with low technical risk for reducing fuel demand in the field today? 
• While we talk about reducing energy demand and increasing renewable supplies to improve capability, who's working on showing how much is enough?

To get within a country mile of answers to any/all of the above, we need analysis done by sources trusted by senior leaders. Answers may be a ways in the future, but the sooner DOD energy "staff" can learn to ask these questions at the appropriate times, the faster investments, experimentation, adoption and better results will appear. 

It's coming up right after Thanksgiving, so here's the direct link to the conference if you'd like to learn more or attend. I promise I won't say any MORS. ;)

Another Serving of Marine Energy MEAT for You

As pledged, here's more detail from Dan Nolan following up on his initial Marines Energy Assessment Team (MEAT) post. This is the real deal: a first-hand account from the true front lines of in-theater operational energy. Here you go:

Getting There

We arrived in Kuwait City and immediately were taken to Ali Al Salem Air Base north of the city. This way station on the road to Iraq and Afghanistan has seen thousands of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and civilians pass through. I have been through here three times and the pros there do a great job of moving a mass of humanity in and out of war zones with a minimum of pain. That being said, "hurry up and wait" in 120 degrees is no fun. Spray foam anyone? Eventually we boarded the C-17 with a couple of multi-ton MRAPs for the four hour trip to Kandahar. It is apparent that the closer you get to the front, the less bureaucracy you have to endure. Kandahar was our last stop before entering the domain of the US Marine Expeditionary Brigade – Afghanistan.

Camp Leatherneck  

Headquartered at Camp Leatherneck, MEB-A is responsible for all USMC operations in the Helmand Province, the wild west of Afghanistan. According to ISAF (International Security Assistance Force, the NATO command in Afghanistan), bases are either temporary or enduring, and only Bagram and Kandahar are designated as enduring. All other bases, therefore, are temporary. This distinction becomes important when discussing military construction. Temporary bases are not eligible for those funds, therefore all construction projects must be $750K or less (without a DoD waiver). The potential economies of scale via by large investment are unfortunately limited by this legal designation. Result: $20 million worth of projects at one installation are being done $750K at a time.

Marines Return and the Maturity Path

Although the US has been in Afghanistan for years, the reintroduction of the Marines is a recent event with all the attendant growing pains, and in many cases they had to fight their way back in. Marine bases are classified by maturity and command responsibility. Camps are large, more mature sites, pushing logistics down to the next level, Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) who in turn provide support to the Combat Outposts (COPs) and from there to the Patrol Bases (PBs). The permanence (actually it's more like the opposite of permanence) of these bases ranges from fleeting to temporary to enduring. Energy demand seems to follow the bureaucratic path as well ... in other words, demand declines (some might say dwindles) as you move down the hierarchy. Additionally, as maturity grows, so does efficiency. When they first deploy, Marines are extremely effective, but not necessarily efficient. Energy demand is low and singular and spot generation is the rule. As a base matures, it brings in the climate control necessary to protect electronics and provide a better environment for troops. However, little is done to increase the efficiency of the structures until the next level of maturity is reached: contract support.

Contract Support and Spot Power

Contract support for temporary bases should contain provisions for rewarding the contractor for efficiency, otherwise there is no incentive. Commanders must insist on this. As non-enduring bases shift from fleeting to temporary, a number of energy conservation and efficiency measures can be taken. Simply moving from spot generation to “ganging” generators increases the efficiency of power production as a prelude to prime power. Spot generation is one generator to one load. Usually the generator rarely matches the load so it runs at lower efficiency and burns additional more fuel. When you group or "gang" generators so that load more closely matches generation, you have greater fuel efficiency and less wear and tear on the generator. In one installation we visited, 19 megawatts of capacity was available to support five megawatts of demand. This is not a matter of malfeasance, it is simply the fact of spot power. Individual generators are required as facilities are established. Over time, efficiencies can be gained through “ganging”, but this requires a command decision. The same is true in the application of other measures such as tent foaming, shifting from tents to hard structures and moving to contract support. In tactical situations, we call it “position improvements”.

Initial Recommendations

The reduction in the fully burdened cost of fuel (FBCF) in dollars and blood require that we give commanders the tools and the knowledge to improve their positions as soon as the situation warrants. There is a cost-cross over point where delaying the decision to move from fleeting to temporary status can be measured and assessed. Determining that point is as much art as science; however, delaying the decision without good tactical rational puts our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines at unnecessary risk. The more support functions the uniformed forces can turn over to contractors, the more combat power can be put where needed. The caveat is that accountability must be ruthless. Contracts must have explicit requirements for efficiency and conservation of energy with appropriate incentives. If the contractors cannot demonstrate cost savings there must be severe penalties. There is an old maxim, “The unit does well what the boss checks.” We must give the boss the tools to check.

There's that call for tools again (see previous post). Stay tuned ... other Services like these energy audits and are signing up. You may get to read another one in the not-too-distant future.

Photo: Titin Valley in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan
Photo Credit: US Army on Flickr

Deloitte on DOD Energy and Dough

Combined with the acquisition of my day-time company and the tumult that's ensued, there have been so many relevant energy reports released lately that I've found myself struggling to digest and post them on this blog in a timely manner. Struggled unsuccessfully, you may have noticed.

OK, that ends now with this link to a good one from Deloitte with experts from inside and outside DOD. Some of it is familiar stuff, some new. But as the cliche goes, pictures trump words (or something like that).

At the gut level, the slide above tells you all you need to know about the future of global gasoline demand. And not just demand - the analysis lays out all the drivers to show that going forward, energy of all kinds is going to cost more, both to DOD, as well as to industry and consumers. Anyone still in favor of status quo policy for DOD fuels? I don't think so. More on that coming pronto in posts on some other solid DOD and energy reports from mid-2009.

Slide from: DOD Energy Mandates - Key Considerations for the Financial Management Community, May 2009

Billings Joins Industry ... Remains Energized

From the "where are they now" department:

Kevin Billings, whose words and wisdom have been cited more than once on the DOD Energy Blog, has just left his Air Force energy exec post to join Lockheed Martin's Energy Services team. In his new position as "Director of Federal Energy Efficiency Programs" Billings will wear business development and operations hats related to Lockheed's Federal energy savings performance contracts.

American Superconductor to help US Tap Untapped Wind Resources

Ever been on a ship on the ocean (not everyone has, you know). But if you have, you've seen how unrelenting offshore winds can be. The May issue of National Defense Magazine has an article that focuses on this large, undeveloped US energy resource. Even without new technology, there's the potential to provide a major fraction of US energy needs with offshore wind farms.

However, American Superconductor Corp's High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) wire has the potential to enable turbines in the 10 MW class (3 MW are typically the largest found today) that also reduce the total weight by about one-third. This could be a big win for the industry, no pun intended. But before we get too excited, there's one persistent problem to keep in mind. The article cautions:

One of the greatest obstacles is the nation’s antiquated electric grid. An Energy Department study reports that approximately 300,000 megawatts-worth of wind projects are awaiting grid connection because of inadequate transmission capacity.

So, don't forget when you hear about progress with smart grid technology and standards, it's not just the savings we'll reap from resting power plants due to better energy management, it's also the ready renewable resources a smarter and better grid will enable to come online.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons