Huntsville Center exceeds President’s energy savings goal for 2016

Two task order contracts catapulted the Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) Program above the Army’s President’s Performance Contracting Challenge (PPCC) goal of $12 million in energy-efficiency performance contracts at federal facilities through 2016.

The task orders awarded to Honeywell Building Solutions by the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Pittsburgh District (LRP) and Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity (HECSA), to perform civil works projects are 11 months ahead of schedule, said Wesley Malone, Energy Division program manager.

“These two projects are part of the ESPC programmatic goal to achieve $200 million in energy-efficiency performance contracts for Fiscal Year 2016,” he said. “Installation Support and Programs Management Energy Division has executed $914 million toward the President’s Performance Contracting Challenge of implementing $4 billion since its inspection.”

Last year, ESPC annual savings was almost $8.5 million that included $184.7 kilo gallons in water savings, a 333.8 million British thermal unit (Btu) energy savings with an average 9.4 percent energy reduction.

An ESPC is one of the acquisition vehicles an installation can use to meet the Army’s 30 percent energy and 15 percent water reduction goals without upfront capital costs.

The $5.6 million LRP task order was awarded 11 months before the PPCC deadline and is expected to lead to a 23 percent reduction in energy consumption or almost 20 billion Btu per year, equivalent to a reduction in 912,040 gallons of fuel. The total proposed cost savings through the term of the contract is $10 million.

The savings will be met through the installation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning programmable thermostats, lighting improvements, high efficiency transformers, and water meter replacements at various locations within the Pittsburgh District, said Priya Stiller, ESPC project manager.

“The installation of the equipment will allow LRP to benefit from robust equipment warranties requiring minimal operations and maintenance and create safer working conditions for the locks and dams through improved lighting,” she said.

Also awarded, the HECSA $7.4 million task order is expected to lead to a 16 percent reduction in energy consumption or 13 billion Btu per year, comparable to 2,159 acres of forest. The total proposed cost savings through the term is $13.7 million.

The energy intensity reduction for the Kude Building, HECSA’s largest consuming building, is expected to be reduced by 50 percent, Stiller said.

“The reduction will be achieved through the installation of high efficiency condensing boilers, chiller plant optimization, installation of programmable thermostats, installation of a new direct digital control system, replacement of air handling units, low-flow toilet and sink water conservation measures, and non-chemical water treatment that will reduce water usage from blow down and eliminate chemical usage,” she said.

The project will lead to infrastructure modernization that will replace equipment beyond the end of expected life, and it will also provide technical resources to HECSA enabling them to make intelligent facility decisions.

“It will provide HECSA with a comprehensive energy project that supports U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ goals for reducing utility costs and energy consumption,” Stiller said.