The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) recently recognized a team of Air Force Civil Engineering Center (AFCEC) energy professionals with the Federal Energy and Water Management Award. This prestigious accolade commends their outstanding contributions to one of the Department of the Air Force's most significant water conservation initiatives, achieved through an $86M Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) at Kadena Air Base, Japan. 

At the forefront of this effort stands Mike Ringenberg, AFCEC's ESPC and Utility Energy Service Contract (UESC) program manager within the energy directorate. Ringenberg's strategic vision and leadership were instrumental in addressing resource limitations at Kadena AB.

Project Completion and Achievements

Completed during Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, the project encompasses four major energy-saving measures, notably LED lighting installations and water system upgrades. These initiatives yielded significant savings and benefits for over 1,100 facilities, markedly enhancing the installation's energy efficiency and lighting quality.

Equally notable are the water upgrades implemented in over 1,000 facilities, resulting in the conservation of nearly 60 million gallons in FY22. This achievement is noteworthy given the island's restricted water supply, underscoring the project's pivotal role in sustainability and resource stewardship.

The project's success is further underscored by its effective coordination and resilience, prominently displayed in the installation’s military family housing areas. Aligned closely with the DAF’s mission assurance and sustainability objectives, this initiative is a model for ongoing ESPCs.

Looking beyond FY22, the project extends to finalizing a 10-MW diesel generator microgrid in FY23. This significant upgrade enhances mission reliability and resilience, reinforcing Kadena AB’s adaptability and readiness capabilities. Noteworthy innovations, such as logistics management, multi-service coordination, and the implementation of a standby microgrid, highlight the installation's potential for knowledge dissemination to other bases.

Furthermore, in addition to delivering substantial savings, the water and lighting energy conservation initiatives streamline inventory control and procurement processes. This comprehensive strategy fosters a resilient and efficient future for Kadena AB, setting a benchmark for sustainable infrastructure management across the DAF.

Continued Excellence in Energy Management

The AFCEC ESPC team remains dedicated to developing and executing projects, from concept development and proposals to construction and implementation. They will continue to uphold responsibility for the review and validation of annual measurement and verification reporting to ensure savings are fulfilled for the agreed term of the project. The team is committed to excellence and sustainability and looks forward to furthering their impactful contributions to energy management within the DAF.

Microgrids

Definition

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) defines a microgrid as "a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources within clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the grid[...]and can operate in either grid-connected or island-mode."

Microgrid Advantages

• Enables an installation (or portion of the load) to island from the public grid during a grid outage
• A microgrid can enable an installation to provide demand-response capabilities to a utility, and can reduce strain on the electric grid
• This can be a source of revenue to finance the microgrid

Microgrid Limitations

• Can increase operations and maintenance (O&M) for installations
• One alternative is to have a third-party own, operate, and maintain the microgrid. However, military personnel must be trained to operate the system during an emergency or have an agreement in place to provide access to the installation for the third-party
• Typically installed at the distribution-level so there is still potential for a fault on the distribution system
• Microgrids do not replace building-level generators, but instead add redundant sources of power
• Microgrids often require replacing several decades old switchgear

USAF Relevance

For the military, installing a microgrid enables the operation of an electric distribution system in the absence of power from the electric utility grid. A microgrid can provide an additional redundancy to a single building, campus or section of an installation, substation, or the full installation. A microgrid does not necessarily replace backup generators in the event of electrical outages within an installation distribution system (e.g. falling tree limbs, construction accidents).

For military installations, a control system can reduce the amount of manpower required to operate an installation distribution system, especially during a grid outage. This will require training and skilled personnel for operation.

Potential Sites

Multiple (Examples: FE Warren AFB, Joint Base Andrews, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Offutt AFB)

Long-Duration Energy Storage

Definition

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) use electricity to drive a reversible chemical reaction to store power. This process is then reversed to inject power into a system.

There are two main components to a battery system. The batteries and the inverter/charge controller that discharges/charges the batteries. Output of a BESS is defined by two major characteristics: power and capacity. Power is defined as the instantaneous energy that is moving into or out of the BESS, usually noted as kW or MW. Capacity is the amount of energy that the BESS can hold, usually noted as kWh or MWh.

USAF Relevance

BESS can store power produced by other connected sources, such as a power plant on the electric grid or onbase generation source and discharge the power later to supplement primary sources. The ideal application for BESS on military installations is to be implemented into a system with both dispatchable generation sources (e.g. diesel generator for hardening or stability) and a renewable (intermittent, to provide low-cost fuel) generation source for longer-term operation. The BESS will both make the renewables less variable as well as smooth the generator output to match load. BESS have multiple value streams, such as providing peak shaving or frequency regulation. Some regulatory markets allow for batteries to be included in ancillary markets – providing power between a buyer and seller of power during congested areas of the grid. To increase the value of a BESS, revenue stacking is common – allowing additional revenue streams with varying uses of the BESS.

Potential Sites

• Vandenberg SFB
• Eareckson AS
• Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
• Offutt AFB
• Tyndall AFB

Wind Turbine Generators

Definition

Wind turbine generators (WTG) convert kinetic wind energy into electrical power. The most prevalent type of wind turbine utilized for electric power generation are those of the horizontal-axis three bladed design. "Lift" is generated when wind flows around the turbine blades, resulting in rotation. Most blades can "pitch" or rotate along their main axis. This allows the turbine to shed wind when needed and serve as the turbine’s primary braking system. The blades are connected to a central hub and main shaft that turns a generator, whose power is made grid-ready by power electronics in the nacelle, the housing positioned atop the wind turbine tower.

USAF Relevance

For the military, wind generation enables installations to offset their fuel consumption by utilizing a free energy source and using federal property for the sites for the turbine generators. Furthermore, wind turbines offer resilience in their role as a variable generating source for microgrids. The Air Force has several onshore wind turbines installed and operating at installations.

Solar Photovoltaic

Definition

Photovoltaic systems (PV) – also known as solar arrays – convert sunlight into electrical energy. An array is composed of photovoltaic modules, mounted on a roof, carport, or ground structure, that produce direct current (DC). An inverter is then used to convert this DC to alternating current (AC). Afterward, the AC will run to a switchgear and, if necessary, be combined with the power from other inverters. A transformer is often used to step up the voltage to match distribution voltage for grid interconnection.

PV systems are comprised of five main pieces of equipment: modules, racking, inverters, overcurrent protection, and monitoring systems.

USAF Relevance

Unlike traditional generators, PV systems can operate in grid-connected mode and provide value through regular monthly electric bill savings to system owners. Due to the systems being used regularly, it is more likely they will be operational when called upon in an emergency. Furthermore, although generators require regular maintenance and a constant fuel supply to continue functioning, PV can provide power for an extended period, assuming there is enough solar resource.

Potential Sites

Multiple (Examples: Arnold AFB, Eglin AFB, JB Andrews, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Offutt AFB, Tyndall AFB)