Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast selected Gulf Power Company of Pensacola, Florida, to receive a $9.8 million award Sept. 6 for a Utility Energy Service Contract (UESC) to bring energy upgrades to Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field in Milton, Florida.

A UESC is a limited-source contract between a federal agency and its serving utility for energy and water efficiency improvements and demand reduction services.

"This UESC project is a vital step forward for NAS Whiting Field's long-standing goal of increasing our energy resiliency and is highly beneficial for the Navy, the hard working men and women of NAS Whiting Field, our community neighbors and our utility provider," NAS Whiting Field Commanding Officer Capt. Todd Bahlau remarked. "The tremendous efforts that the Navy and Gulf Power teams have put into this project are a testament to the rich partnership we have enjoyed over the years."

The UESC calls for the design and installation of interior and exterior lighting upgrades, water conservation measures, energy management and control system (EMCS) integration and EMCS communications infrastructure upgrades. Additionally, the project will include transformer replacements to improve energy security and mechanical upgrades to modernize the Heating, Ventilation and Cooling (HVAC) systems in many of the base facilities. All of the EMCS improvements were carefully analyzed for compatibility with Department of the Navy cyber security and 'Smart Grid' future goals.

"I am elated to see this project come to fruition," said NAS Whiting Field Installation Energy Manager Jason Poe. "It brings industry-leading technologies to NAS Whiting Field and greatly assists the Navy in meeting Executive Order 13693 mandated targets for energy and water conservation."

Many of the electrical savings built into this contract rely on cutting edge technology. The project will bring a host of HVAC advances to NAS Whiting Field, including the installation of variable frequency drives, hybrid water heaters, high efficiency heat pumps and variable volume condensing units.

"Care was taken when planning the project to account for the high load and mission critical facilities," said Poe. "Within one of the high-load facilities, the project will create a new "virtual" chiller plant with a high efficiency chiller serving multiple buildings in order to consolidate multiple existing boilers and condensing units across several facilities. This will provide a more robust capability to mission critical locations while also eliminating redundant energy-consuming devices."

Poe added that the project is projected to save more than 17,000 MBTU (Million British Thermal units) and approximately 2.6 million gallons of water annually. That equates to about $495,000 annually in combined energy and water savings.

The project falls under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which authorizes agencies to use appropriations, private financing or a combination of both to comply with its requirements for UESC for evaluations/project implementation.

It also supports President Barack Obama's December 2011 announcement of a $4 billion investment in energy upgrades to combined federal and private sector buildings. When announced, the investments were intended to save billions in energy costs, promote energy independence and, according to independent estimates, create tens of thousands of jobs in the hard-hit construction sector. The $4 billion investment in 2011 included a $2 billion commitment, made through the issuance of a Presidential Memorandum, to energy upgrades of federal buildings using long term energy savings to pay for up-front costs, at no cost to taxpayers.

The project is expected to be completed by November 2017.

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