Posts Tagged ‘renewable energy’

The Air Force and EDF Renewable Energy, formerly enXco, have begun negotiations to lease 195 acres at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., for solar energy development, following the company’s selection as the highest-ranked offeror for an enhanced use leasing project, officials announced last week. The project calls for San Diego-based EDF Renewable Energy, the U.S. subsidiary of EDF-Energies Nouvelles, to develop up to 27 megawatts of solar power capacity at the northern California base. “The Travis project is one of several renewable energy EULs in development that will help the Air Force meet its energy goals, and provide power for local community use,” said Kathleen Ferguson, deputy assistant secretary for installations.

In its first year of operation, the 6-megawatt solar array at the Air Force Academy produced about 7.5 percent more power than anticipated, saving the government $802,000 in avoided power purchases. The $18.3-million project, made up of 18,888 solar panels installed along 41 acres, began operation July 1, 2011. Officials had estimated the project would save only $550,000 in its first year …

The Army’s initiative to cut the use of energy and water by installations, and to reduce their waste stream, is not confined to the United States. On Friday, Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary for installations, energy and environment, visited Army Garrison Grafenwoehr in Germany to assess the garrison’s progress as it strives to become a “Net Zero” installation for waste …

Beginning in January 2013, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is scheduled to obtain one quarter of its electricity by converting methane gas generated by the Anchorage landfill to energy. The city landfill, located adjacent to the base, had been spending $60,000 a year to burn off the gas. Soon the landfill will generate more than 56,000 megawatt hours of electricity, or 26 percent of the base’s load. One critical component of the initiative is JBER’s use of a privatized utility contractor …

Dorothy Robyn, who oversaw the effort to carry out the recommendations from BRAC 2005 as DOD’s installations chief, will leave the department shortly to become commissioner of the General Services Administration’s Public Buildings Service, the unit that manages the federal government’s real estate portfolio. Robyn, who has been deputy undersecretary for installations and environment since July 2009, will join GSA “in the coming weeks,” according to a memo Dan Tangherlini, GSA’s acting administrator, sent employees on Tuesday …

DOD’s Siting Clearinghouse next week will be reviewing a proposed wind farm in eastern North Carolina to determine if the hazard the turbine poses to low-level flights from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base can be mitigated. The 49-turbine Pantego Wind Energy Project, planned for 11,000 acres in Beaufort County by Invenergy, is one of only a dozen projects requiring review by the clearinghouse’s Mitigation Response Team. Following DOD’s Sept. 10 review, the clearinghouse will attempt to resolve the conflict …

The ADC Energy Partnership Council is co-sponsoring a two-day workshop focusing on how industry can partner with the federal government to help meet its goals for improving energy efficiency and increasing its reliance on renewable energy. The workshop, “PPPs for the Federal Government: Successful Partnering to Meet Energy Goals and Mandates,” is being held by the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships from Sept. 19-20 in Arlington, Va. …

The lack of a formal process for developers to notify the military about projects, primarily wind farms, that potentially could interfere with an installation’s operations eventually could threaten the viability of one or more bases in Texas, Capt. Mark McLaughlin, commanding officer of Naval Air Station Kingsville, told the state’s legislature last week. “I am dealing with wind farm developers from multiple companies that are planning to encircle my base with upwards of 1,400 wind turbines …

Last week’s pre-proposal conference for the Army’s $7 billion acquisition of renewable energy through a multiple-award task order contract attracted more than 600 industry representatives to Huntsville, Ala., a clear signal that the service’s effort to streamline its procurement process and listen to companies’ concerns about the draft solicitation paid off. “To reach the Army’s goal of deploying 1 gigawatt of renewable energy by 2025 will require a different way of doing business with the private sector. The issuance of the MATOC is a clear milestone for us and the significant interest we’ve seen from industry indicates that we are on the right path …

The Air Force has reached a deal with SunEdison LLC to build a 14.5-megawatt photovoltaic solar array at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., and provide electricity through a power purchase agreement at a reduced rate for 25 years. Construction will begin soon with completion planned by December as the array has to begin generating electricity by Dec. 31, 2012, reported the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency. The project relies on SunEdison participating in a program to sell the renewable energy certificates to Tucson Electric Power. That program expires at the end of the year …