Fort Bragg saves 1.8 million annually with efficient energy

Minneapolis, MN— Honeywell announced the completion of a prototype cooling, heating and power (CHP) generation system at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina designed to improve energy infrastructure, reduce energy consumption and increase energy security.

Initiated by the Directorate of Public Works (DPW) at Fort Bragg and developed with the Department of Energy (DOE) through Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the new system uses energy recycling to achieve an estimated 70 percent overall energy efficiency — a considerable improvement over the 35 to 40 percent efficiency typical with centrally generated electricity sources. The installation represents a significant advance in energy management and is projected to reduce Fort Bragg energy costs by $1.8 million per year.

The prototype is the latest phase in an energy partnership between Honeywell and the Fort Bragg DPW, which is responsible for almost 30 million square feet of facilities at the 84-year-old Army post. Formed under an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC), the partnership has cut total energy costs at Fort Bragg by more than 25 percent over the last seven years. ESPCs allow the federal government to use private financing to upgrade buildings and make them more energy efficient. Contractors like Honeywell are paid from the cost savings and are required to guarantee that the government will save more money than it spends.

“This has been an extremely productive relationship,” said Joe Puishys, president of Honeywell Building Solutions. “Together, the U.S. Army and Honeywell have saved more than $57 million at Fort Bragg to date. And over the entire course of the ESPC, Fort Bragg will be able to make $66 million in capital investments at no additional operating cost to the government and taxpayers.”

The new, $11-million CHP system is an integrated system built around a five-megawatt gas turbine generator coupled with an innovative heat recovery steam generator and absorption chiller. Waste heat produced during combustion of natural gas fuel, which drives the turbine generator, is directed to either the heat recovery steam generator or absorption chiller. The steam generator uses waste heat to produce steam for heating and hot water, and the chiller converts the waste heat to chilled water used for air conditioning. The ultra-efficient design is the first of its kind.