Photo By Staff Sgt. Angela Parady | A.J. Ballard, the energy manager for the Maine Army National Guard points out hourly...... read more read more
The Environmental Protection Agency presented the Energy Star Combined Heat and Power Award to the Maine Army National Guard for their Combined Heat and Power prototype in use at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Bangor.
The Maine Army National Guard was one of four facilities recognized by the EPA for superior performance using combined heat and power at the New York State Energy Research and Development On-site Power Conference and Expo in New York City in December.
CHP systems reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other air pollutions by reusing the heat that is produced during electricity production and then use that heat to provide space heating, cooling, hot water and steam with zero emissions. Not only does this technology reduce pollution, it also saves money.
“This is a wonderful machine,” said A.J. Ballard, energy manager for the MEARNG. “This system produces electricity we don’t have to pay for and heat we don’t have to pay for.” Now that the system has been in place for nearly a full year, the MEARNG is now seeing the financial benefits.
Since installing the CHP, the MEARNG has reduced its average energy costs to the facility by just over $60,000 in the one year it has been in use, Ballard said.
The CHP has also increased the reliability of the Army Aviation Support Facility’s energy supply. The 123,500 square foot building that houses many of the helicopters and flight assets for the state now generates electricity on site, displacing grid supplied power and reducing the dependency on outside power sources. The CHP is a 75 kilowatt-hour system and is supplemented by a smaller 43 kwh solar powered system that assists in energy production as well. According to Ballard and MEARNG energy project manager Paul Lapointe, studies showed that solar power alone was not a feasible option for the facility. The combination of the systems has led to a 30 percent decrease in energy consumption, and has encouraged self-sufficiency.
“These systems are designed in be able to disconnect from the grid and operate independently, without being hooked up to the commercial power lines,” said Lapointe. “Right now, our system is completely self-sufficient during the weekends and about half the day. For a building of this size and the needs of the facility, that is incredible.”
This system may soon be debuting in other states nationwide.
“The Secretary of the Army has made clean energy a very high priority, and we are going to try to develop at least 50 percent more of these because of the results that we achieved here,” said Lapointe.
Ballard said being recognized for this award was a testament to the high energy conservation standards for which Maine has strived.
“We were there with all of these other [organizations] that have staffs dedicated to energy management that are bigger than the full-time staff for our National Guard,” said Ballard. “It was an honor that our system here is comparable with these hospitals and universities.”
| Date Taken: | 01.17.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 02.17.2017 08:24 |
| Story ID: | 223939 |
| Location: | BANGOR, ME, US |
| Web Views: | 110 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Maine Engineering Team Innovations Lead to National Award, by SSG Angela Parady, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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