Arnold Air Force Base to reap benefits of $19.7 million energy savings award

  • Published
  • By Kazi Mamun, Arnold Resource Efficiency Manager
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  NORESCO, one of the 16 Super Energy Savings Performance Contractors, received the $19.7 million energy savings performance contract (ESPC) award to work at Arnold Air Force Base through the Air Force Civil Engineering Center and Defense Logistics Agency.

The scope of services under the contract is for NORESCO to provide the upfront capital financing through Hannon and Armstrong, a national lender for energy contracts at a moderate cost, to perform an investment grade audit in various Arnold facilities to assess current energy consumption baselines on various energy end uses. This will include assessing lighting and lighting controls, energy management control systems, and steam pipe systems, as well as installing new energy conservation measures, or ECMs, such as retrofits and new additions, and measuring new consumption to verify demand and energy savings from its pre-installation energy baselines.

The project at Arnold AFB will make significant contributions toward supporting the AEDC mission and advance the base’s goals toward reducing energy use and intensity and help support Air Force Energy priorities to improve energy efficiency, reduce demand and foster a culture of energy awareness.

Three energy conservation measures were identified. The contract price includes turnkey installation by internal NORESCO staff, including its specialized design group dedicated to the design and implementation of energy solutions and qualified subcontracted trade labor. Through tailored commissioning, training, and operations, maintenance repair, and replacement plans, the company will ensure that the implementation of these ECMs does not increase the burden on the Arnold AFB maintenance team.

The three energy conservation measures identified were: 1. ECM-01:
Lighting Upgrades; 2. ECM-02: Direct Digital Control System (DDC) Upgrades; 3. ECM-03: Steam System Insulation.

ECM-01 Benefits
• Provides new fixtures, lamps, and ballasts in 69 buildings and select street and parking lot areas
• Provides high-efficiency LED technology throughout the site
• Street and parking lot fixture upgrades improve safety and security
• New long-life components greatly reduce ongoing maintenance cost and burden on the Arnold AFB team

ECM-02 Benefits
• Provides for new SmartStructure control panels and controllers in 17 buildings
• Replaces obsolete controllers with latest technology
• Provides ongoing support for firmware/software updates
• Provides quarterly trend reviews to ensure persistence of proper operation and associated savings

ECM-03 Benefits
• Provides new insulation on currently uninsulated fittings and steam traps
• Eliminates costly heat loss from uninsulated steam fittings and piping
• Applies high-quality, long lasting insulation blankets that minimize maintenance requirements
• Improves safety

Although these ECMs may appear basic, they impact key operational capabilities across the site’s numerous facilities, address fundamental infrastructure issues and contribute to the broader strategic goal of mission assurance through energy assurance. This NORESCO project is estimated to reduce the CO2-related emissions associated with all energy sources by 19,000 tons, the equivalent of removing over 3,000 vehicles from the roads or planting almost 4,000 acres of pine forest.

AEDC bears a unique signature as a Complex for rendering the mission critical functions of modeling, simulation and testing of aerospace weapon systems and subsystems for the Department of Defense and other private industries. This mission requires intermittent and sporadic demand for power and energy unlike other bases. In order to strengthen mission assurance through energy assurance to meet the unpredictable nature of power and energy needs of AEDC, the ability to ensure a sustained supply of adequate energy has become a priority. Replacing or improving on the systems included in this project will allow the base to focus on delivering reliable and resilient energy to the mission areas.

Such a project makes the existing needs for energy more robust, responsive and reliable under potential contingent situations and helps perform mission critical functionalities without any interruption. Therefore, the work performed by NORESCO has far-reaching implications for AEDC, Air Force Materiel Command, the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense and to a greater extent the broader community and the nation as a whole, as it contributes to energy resiliency for mission assurance.

Headquartered in Massachusetts, NORESCO is one of the largest energy services companies and energy service provider in the United States, accredited by National Association of Energy Service Companies. The company uses design-build and a variety of performance-based contracting vehicles to deliver energy and maintenance savings and significant infrastructure upgrades to existing facilities. These upgrades can be funded through cost savings that the projects generate, without the need for upfront capital expenditures by the customer.

The company is recognized for its expertise and technical depth in developing and implementing comprehensive energy efficiency, performance-based and build/own/operate distributed generation, and cogeneration or combined heat and power projects. The energy services provider is also known for verifying energy savings according to accepted industry practice and consulting or contracting for commodity electricity or gas supply. NORESCO leverages its extensive experience in project design, implementation, commissioning, operations and maintenance to deliver customized and innovative solutions that deliver performance with payback.

Notable among its peers, with no OSHA violations on a construction project in the past five years and a company insurance experience modification rate of 0.45, the company is ranked top among its competitors in winning the $19.7 million bid to deliver the $37.6 million guaranteed savings over a 21-year, 4-month financing term.

NORESCO customers include federal government agencies, universities, state and local governments, school districts, hospitals, and industrial and commercial businesses. The company has guaranteed more than $3 billion in energy savings at more than 7,000 sites throughout the U.S. and worldwide.