Photo By Cynthia McIntyre | Executive Orders 13514 (2009) and 13693 (2015) mandate that federal agencies reduce...... read more read more
BARSTOW, Calif. - With around 260 days of sunshine a year in Southern California, and many days windy enough to engage a wind turbine, it is only natural that those renewable sources of energy would be popular here, including on Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California.
Anthony Mesa, installation energy manager for MCLB Barstow, said that of the two sources of "green" power used on base, solar is preferred. "We like solar because we get consistent sun," he explained.
The sole turbine at MCLB Barstow supplies about 30 percent of Nebo's electrical use. It is the first, and largest, wind turbine in the Marine Corps, said Mesa, standing 330 feet tall with the top blade fully extended. In fiscal year 2013 it ran 314 days and saved $296,000 over buying electricity from Southern California Edison.
At wind speeds of 45 mph and higher, the turbines go into standby mode to avoid ruining the mechanical parts, said Mesa. They will operate when the wind speed is consistently between 8 and 40 mph. Built in 2009, the $4.6 million turbine was sidelined for about a year when the maintenance contractor went bankrupt.
The 666 kilowatt, 20-acre solar farm at Yermo, and its 333 kilowatt, 10-acre sibling at Nebo generate around 11 percent of the base's electricity, according to Mesa. They were installed in 2011 under the Solar Power Purchase Agreement, allowing a private contractor to own and maintain the panels. The base buys the power generated at a reduced cost. The projected cost savings over 20 years is $3.9 million, said Mesa, and at the end of the contract the solar farms will be owned and maintained by MCLB Barstow.
As a point of comparison, Mesa said if the entire one megawatt solar capacity was only on Nebo, it would generate 39 percent of Nebo's electricity, versus the wind turbine's 30 percent.
In addition, new facilities constructed on base can use rooftop solar panels to meet the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Design) silver certification level of green building standards. Most of the base's exterior lights are also individually solar-powered. Even on cloudy days, solar panels can generate power at 10 to 25 percent of sunny day capacity.
Replacing fluorescent lighting with LEDs is resulting in a cost-savings as well. Whereas LED lighting used to be harsh and expensive, it is now friendlier on both counts. The base gym and the Family Restaurant have LED lights installed. Although more expensive, they are nearly a third more energy-efficient, last at least twice as long, and have no mercury, unlike fluorescent bulbs.
Water reduction is also a mandate, according to Mark Ulibarri, MCLB Barstow utilities supervisor. The Yermo Annex has three of its own wells, drawing from aquifers 133 to 185 feet underground, close to the Mojave River bottom. Untreated well water on the Nebo side keeps the Tees and Trees golf course green, but the water for drinking and landscaping on Nebo is from Golden State Water. Many of the trees are drip-irrigated to minimize water usage.
Anthony Mesa said, "The plan is to extend the water lines from our wells along Joseph L. Boll Avenue, from the water tank's location near building 238, northwest to Sorensen Field." The estimated cost savings would be $65,000 a year at current rates.
Ulibarri added, "It costs us about ten times more to purchase water. With wells, once we get the infrastructure done the only cost is electricity (to pump it)." He urges all base employees to report leaks of any kind to Public Works at 760-577-6220.
"Most of the water on base is used for irrigation," he explained. "Landscaping and irrigation is where you can cut back without affecting normal business on base."
One such water-saving initiative is the use of xeriscaping, which means removing water-intensive lawns and plantings, and replacing them with gravel, decorative rocks and native drought-tolerant plants. The base housing area was replaced in 2008, and includes xeriscaping.
"The bottom line is our drought," said Mesa. "We cannot continue to use the water the way some people would like to."
| Date Taken: | 05.29.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.29.2015 13:52 |
| Story ID: | 164918 |
| Location: | BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 228 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Sun, Wind, Water - Saving resources and money, by Cynthia McIntyre, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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