By Marina Malenic
The Air Force last week met with industry officials to trade information on potential renewable energy projects for service installations across the country.
The Air Force’s first renewable energy industry day, held on Dec. 8 in Irving, Texas, was an opportunity energy companies to gain an inside view of Air Force plans to further develop renewable energy sources.
The Air Force has laid out a goal of deriving 25 percent of the energy it consumes from renewable sources by the year 2025, said Terry Yonkers, assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics.
“And while the Air Force is dedicated to meeting and exceeding our goals, we have lacked an enterprise-wide strategy for doing so,” he told industry officials.
Unlike during traditional industry day events, the Air Force was not prescribing a particular task or request for proposals, according to Yonkers.
“To the contrary, we are seeking an outcome,” he said. “And we are looking for private sector entities to propose designs and business plans to help us achieve those outcomes.”
Over the next several months, Yonkers plans to finalize an overall Air Force “renewable energy game plan.” He said he wants to develop an understanding of the technical and cost details necessary to enter into business arrangements for such projects, identify qualified companies interested in building renewable energy projects on air bases and start the solicitation process. He said the Air Force would enter into “long-term business arrangements with companies that are ready to use private sector capital to build, operate and maintain renewable energy projects to generate electricity, heat or other positive energy benefits” for air bases. “Recognizing full well that there is not a ‘one size fits all’ [solution], the economics will dictate the business plan, size, input, output and duration of the partnership,” he said. “In this regard, we are not viewing nor are we wed to ‘inside the installation boundary’ as the only option.”
For example, many military installations would benefit from contracting with local companies for “waste-to-energy” services. A typical air base generates about 10 tons of residential refuse every day, according to Yonkers, and sizing a separate military waste-to-energy plant based on this input is not economical.
“So, entering into partnerships with local communities to take their refuse to optimize such a project is what we are seeking,” he said.
“What I am committed to is being flexible and willing to recalibrate as we move down this path,” he added.
Yonkers also requested that industry inform him of any “internal hurdles” to such deals within the government contracting process so that he can work on resolving them early.
“If there are legislative initiatives that we need to seek to give us authorities to make these deals work better, I want to know what those are as well,” he said. “What I have in mind is a process that takes no longer than 12 months from the time the business proposition is laid out to the time we start digging dirt.
“That gives investors a reasonable return on their investment, that minimizes risks to the developer, and that gives the Air Force positive benefit in stable energy prices,” he added.
As the Air Force moves forward with the initiative, Yonkers said the service is “particularly focused” on Executive Order 13514 signed by President Obama in October 2009. That order called for federal agencies to increase use of on-base renewable energy and required them to reduce greenhouse gases.
“As the Air Force develops its strategic acquisition strategy and Request For Proposals, we will want to see not only the technical and cost proposal elements, but how contractor proposals will incorporate reduced greenhouse gas and life cycle cost benefits,” he explained.
The Air Force says it is particularly interested in projects that can be developed through third-party investments on installations using Power Purchase Agreements or Enhanced Use Leases. The projects must generate electricity that is “competitive or cheaper than current grid rates,” according to a statement released by the service.
Yonkers said the Air Force is planning “a number of follow-on engagements” to last week’s industry day.
With more than 40 renewable energy projects in operation, and dozens more planned, the Air Force continues to lead the federal government in reducing energy consumption and increasing supply, according to service officials. The Environmental Protection Agency recently recognized the Air Force for the seventh year in a row as the number one purchaser of green power in the federal government.