'Early communication' makes EUL, PPA programs more successful

  • Published
  • By Eric M. Grill
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  Following up on a November 2012 rapid-improvement event to streamline the Air Force Enhanced Use Lease and Power Purchase Agreement programs, the Air Force turned to private industry Jan. 15 for a business partnership discussion.

The talks were held during the Association of Defense Communities Professional Development Forum that took place Jan. 14-16 in San Antonio.

During an open discussion with potential developers and military community leaders, Brian Brown, Air Force Civil Engineer Center Installations Center of Excellence Strategic Asset Utilization Division chief, said the Air Force must have civilian sector participation if the process is to be successful.

"We like working with communities and we like embracing their ideas because usually the communities already know what will and won't work," he said. "Being a government entity, we are staying as close as we can to understanding the real world out there, and understanding the pains and tribulations the developer goes through (during the EUL process)."

Managed at the AFCEC Installations Center of Excellence here, EULs are long-term lease agreements between the Air Force and private developers to lease non-excess Air Force property in exchange for in-kind consideration.

An example of in-kind consideration is the construction of a wastewater treatment plant on Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., said Martin Briseno, AFCEC EUL program manager. The city of North Las Vegas is leasing land under the EUL program for the treatment plant, which will provide water for irrigating base property in addition to North Las Vegas.

Besides construction of new facilities on leased real property, Briseno said in-kind consideration also enables payment of utility services, real property maintenance and other services relating to activities on the leased property as the Secretary of the Air Force considers appropriate.

Power Purchase Agreements, managed by the AFCEC Energy Directorate at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., are contracts between installations and commercial developers to use Air Force property with the Air Force purchasing the energy generated, which spans the range of all renewable technologies.

The Air Force has worked hard to refine a process to be responsive and quick to act so a developer can start working, Brown said.

"We learn from you -- the developers -- and then we reengineer our processes to get to a place where enhanced use leases and power purchase agreements can be accomplished," he said.

Timeliness is something the Air Force changed to make the processes more manageable, Briseno said.

"If we're not reactive enough to proposals, we might get a market shift that now makes the project not viable," Briseno said. "Among the biggest challenges we face is communicating what Air Force requirements are so the community and developers know exactly what we're looking for."

Disconnects between Air Force and industry expectations along with unexpected environmental, cultural and political challenges are some of the most common surprises, he said.

Increased industry interaction, like the round-table discussion, is one of the ways to mitigate expectations. Through industry days and bidder conferences, the Air Force can actively solicit and incorporate industry feedback and encourage one-on-one breakout sessions.

"We need to interact with industry sooner and better," Briseno said.

Tom Swoyer from Infinity Development Partners discussed why developers and communities work with the federal government to lease real property.

"The land the government offers is valuable to the local community for development because it's usually a large parcel of land and we only deal with a single owner versus sometimes multiple owners of land in the local community," Swoyer said. "In most states leased land from the government is also exempt from property tax, which from a business standpoint is more enticing as well."

For more information about EULs, go to AFCEC's EUL website at http://www.afcec.af.mil/eul/.

For more information on Power Purchase Agreements, go to AFCEC's Renewable Energy website at http://www.afcec.af.mil/energy/renewableenergy/index.asp.