The U.S. Air Force awarded Honeywell [HON] a $243 million facility modernization project at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Okla., that is expected to save $20.5 million yearly, the company said Monday.
The project is a joint effort among Honeywell, Tinker, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Energy, Headquarters Air Force Material Command, and the Air Force Civil Engineer Center. Once completed, the modernization project is expected to reduce energy consumption on the base by 23 percent and over $20 million in energy and operational costs annually.
The company highlighted this is the largest energy savings performance contract (ESPC) the Air Force has ever awarded. It will focus on improvements to infrastructure and industrial processes at the Oklahoma City – Air Logistics Complex’s (OC-ALC) production facilities to make the buildings more energy and operationally efficient. These facilities employ 9,000 people and is one of three air logistics complexes the Air Force Sustainment Center, Air Force Material Command operates.
The contract will be funded through a 21-year ESPC that DLA Energy awarded to Honeywell. The ESPC allows the Air Force to fund upgrades using annual energy and operational savings guaranteed by the company so the service does not need to contribute an upfront capital investment.
Once complete, the project’s improvements are expected to save the ALC over $626 million in energy and operational costs over the life of the project. The first year is expected to save more than $6.7 million in energy expenses and $13.4 million in operational costs, Honeywell said.
Honeywell noted the contracted work includes modernizing manufacturing lines to eliminate wasted ventilation and increase worker safety; updating wastewater treatment systems to provide equipment control and alarm monitoring; installing two new 2,000-ton chillers to increase the reliability of the cooling system; upgrading paint booths to reduce energy used by the painting process; decentralizing the steam heating plant with a distributed heat system to lower energy use; installing more efficient LED lighting with wireless controls; and installing smart meters to more closely monitor and track building energy consumption.
The company will also integrate new buildings on the base into Tinker’s existing Honeywell Enterprise Buildings Integrator building management system that manages and controls heating, cooling, and metering equipment. After the upgrades are complete, Honeywell is contracted to provide ongoing maintenance and service to the building systems.
“We are honored to be home to the largest energy retrofit project in Air Force history … This is a big milestone for Tinker Air Force Base and the Air Force in our journey to achieving operational efficiency, and we thank both the Secretary of the Air Force Leadership and Honeywell for making this achievement possible,” OC-ALC commander Brig. Gen. Mark K. Johnson said in a statement.
“In addition to increasing productivity, the improvements will also make us more competitive in the private sector for aircraft maintenance work through decreasing our energy costs,” he added.
“Honeywell is pleased to partner with the Air Force in this endeavor and help them achieve operational excellence through software, energy and industrial process upgrades,” John Rajchert, president of Honeywell Building Solutions, said in a statement.