Courtesy Photo | Adam Alexander, maintenance division chief, DPW, describes where the on-site solar...... read more read more
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By Christine Luciano, DPW Environmental Outreach
FORT HOOD, Texas - Fort Hood is leading the way in energy efficiency with the Army’s largest hybrid renewable energy project and vehicle-to-grid initiative, saving the installation money and resources while leveraging green technologies.
Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, visited Fort Hood and toured the installation’s energy initiatives.
“It was great to see all the different energy initiatives that are going at Fort Hood from conservation of energy to production of renewable energy to the vehicles that can run off an alternate fuel,” Hammack said. “What’s amazing is the wide variety of energy projects here and all that contributes to resiliency. By being more resilient against acts of nature or acts of man, we can ensure the mission can sustain now and long into the future.”
The vehicle-to-grid project at Fort Hood has transformed plug-in electric vehicles to bring power to the grid. The electric vehicle buys power from the grid, stores it and sells back what power it doesn’t use.
Part of the Directorate of Public Works general-purpose fleet has been replaced with plug-in electric vehicles, including sedans and pickup trucks.
“Through the electric vehicle initiative, the charging stations and vehicles help contribute to grid resiliency by taking power from the grid only when there is excess power and putting power back on the grid when the grid needs power,” Hammack said.
Hammack next toured the on-site solar photovoltaic facility for the hybrid renewable energy project.
“The large-scale renewable energy project has a combination of solar energy on post and wind that is produced off post,” she said. “This is an amazing initiative that could be a template for other installations.”
The Army will lease 110 acres at Fort Hood to a developer to build an on-site solar PV facility. The solar PV facility will be financed, owned and operated by a third party developer from the private sector.
The off-site 51 megawatt wind farm will have 22 wind turbines on 6,000 acres of leased land in Floyd County in the Texas Panhandle.
The Army will purchase the energy that is produced from the on-site solar PV facility along with off-site renewable wind energy for a price at or below projected utility rates.
“Based on this proposal, 40 percent of our annual energy consumption will be from renewables at a lower rate than what we currently pay today,” said Adam Alexander, maintenance division chief, DPW.
The solar PV facility will have the capability of microgrid and storage technology to provide uninterrupted continuous power. A microgrid offers an effective solution to improve energy security by operating independently with its own power resources.
“Fort Hood is set up to looking into the future,” Alexander said. “Everyone is in line, making sure everything we do makes that transition as easy as possible, when we are ready to explore those opportunities.”
Hammack emphasized the Army plans to increase renewables where they are cost effective.
“We’re not going to do something for the sake of environmental efficiency if it doesn’t have cost benefits, as well,” Hammack said. “We are trying to find that balance point between what’s right for the environment, doing what’s right for energy and doing what’s right for the resiliency of the Army and finding those sweet spots is the challenge. But we have found a couple of them here at Fort Hood.”
Fort Hood’s environmental success was attributed to great leaders and individuals.
“Everyone is fully vested in doing the right thing for the right reason. The Fort Hood leaders are stepping back and saying, ‘You know what right looks like and go ahead and implement it,’” Hammack said. “It’s a real reflection of the individuals’ passion for what they do and what makes Fort Hood – the Great Place.”
| Date Taken: | 07.03.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.03.2015 16:38 |
| Story ID: | 169054 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 114 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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