CEMIRT brings reliable power to Ascension Island

  • Published
  • By John Burt
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Reliable power is everything. Without it, an isolated location in the Atlantic like Ascension Auxiliary Airfield couldn't sustain its mission or provide adequate facilities for personnel. So when the power personnel at the airfield needed an immediate backup power solution for their overworked generators, they called the Air Force Civil Engineer Center's Civil Engineer Maintenance, Inspection and Repair Team, or CEMIRT.

"The mission at Ascension requires reliable power for their satellite tracking and communication systems," said Gabriel Garza, CEMIRT electrical foreman. "They have one power plant which houses three primary 1.9 MW generators and two older, smaller backup generators. The base personnel have had compatibility issues with the backup systems. This, combined with the age of the units, means they are rarely utilized."

Officially Detachment 2, 45th Operations Group, the airfield is on Ascension Island, a British territory more than 5,090 miles southeast of Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., and about 500 miles south of the equator. Although basic supplies are flown in once a week, Ascension can only receive equipment or larger items by ship once every three months.

"Without reliable backup equipment at a remote spot like Ascension, an equipment failure could mean extended blackouts and could be detrimental to their mission," said Pat Ross, CEMIRT powered support systems foreman.

Base planners knew they needed to act fast to prevent possible power outages and reached out to CEMIRT for help. With operating locations at Tyndall AFB, Fla., and Travis AFB, Calif., CEMIRT provides emergency response and specialized electrical and power generation support worldwide. In April, a CEMIRT team visited the island to conduct a power assessment.

"At the time of our visit, one of Ascension's primary generators was down for major overhaul, which only left them with two operational units," said Garza. "This meant non-critical systems may have to be shut down if these units reached their maximum load capacities. We knew it was imperative that they upgraded their plant and power systems."

CEMIRT gave recommendations to the base for a long-term plan for their power system. In the meantime, they had some equipment at their Travis region that could provide the base with the temporary help they desperately needed.

"We had two CEMIRT Emergency Power Systems, or CEPS, which are large, containerized 1.6 MW generator units," said Ross. "These units were like-new, with very low hours on them. They could be tied into Ascension's power grid to provide needed backup power for the airfield to give their power plant some relief and help sustain the mission. If something happened to their equipment, our units would be ready to pick up the load."

The two CEPS had originally been acquired by CEMIRT from the U.S. Army to prepare to send in support of relief efforts following the March 2011 earthquake in Japan. At that time, CEMIRT had overhauled the generators to prepare them for use, but the call never came to send them overseas. Now, more than 18 months later, they were being called into service. Ross was pleased the generators would be going to support the base at Ascension.

"That's what these assets are for - to send and help out in emergency situations like this. This is a unique capability that CEMIRT provides," he said.

Tech. Sgt. Mark Kudlas, CEMIRT industrial power production craftsman at Travis was responsible for prepping the units prior to shipment.

"We updated the fuel tanks from a single wall fuel tank to a tank with a dual wall. We made other modifications to the units like relocating some of the batteries to make it easier for the Ascension personnel to access them for maintenance," he said.

The CEMIRT team had to get these generators ready and in port by a certain date or they would miss the transport ship and delay the project another three months.

"The Travis team loaded the CEPS in a 40-foot shipping container and transported them from California across the country to Norfolk, Va., to meet the ship," Ross said. "It was a challenge getting the generators as well as our tools and equipment ready, packed and transported on time. Everyone worked very hard to get it done."

Last month, CEMIRT sent a six-man team to Ascension Island to meet the ship and install the CEPS with the help of base contractors. Part of the four-week installation process included tying the generators into the island's fuel system and calibrating the relay equipment to ensure the protective systems would trip to prevent a catastrophic system failure.

The CEPS didn't take long to prove themselves.

"While we were testing our system, one of the two remaining primary generators lost oil pressure and failed, so the airfield was down to one unit," said Ross. "The fact that we were carrying part of the power load helped because now their one remaining generator had a little relief. It kept them from having a blackout."

"When their unit went down, we were running all of the housing and most of the non-critical systems on our CEPS," said Tech. Sgt. Kudlas, "so no one experienced a power outage and there was no adverse mission impact or inconvenience for anyone. Our equipment performed very well."

Garza is pleased with the outcome of the project, the support CEMIRT was able to provide and what it means to the base.

"It gives them some relief," he said. "Now they can bring their primary generators down for regular maintenance, something they haven't been able to do in a while. They can also do some additional maintenance on the radiators and other components to prevent a possible catastrophic failure."

CEMIRT team members also said it gives Ascension personnel the ability to take portions of their system offline to maintain other components like the electrical switch gear.

"This is another example of CEMIRT's CEPS emergency response and logistics support for military bases in the states and overseas," Garza said. "We're honored to help support the mission of customers and provide this type of service."