NAVFAC Begins Installation Process of Wind Turbine

By Lee H. Saunders, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest Public Affairs

Installation of the Marine Corps' first large scale wind turbine at Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB) Barstow began Jan. 8, with a kick-off meeting between Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest, MCLB, and Southern California Edison (SCE). The meeting starts the official implementation of the first of its kind contract awarded to the Marine Corps in November 2007.

"The purchase of this wind turbine will allow MCLB Barstow to meet energy conservation and savings requirements established by various federal laws, regulations and directives," said Monica Hernandez, NAVFAC Southwest contract specialist for Special Ventures Acquisition Utilities and Energy Contracting. "The wind turbine is expected to generate an average of 3,000 megawatt hours of renewable power each year for the base's consumption in lieu of brown power, which equates to as much as $500,000 of annual energy cost savings." Brown power is man-made energy. The green or renewable energy wind turbine power generation system will produce a peak AC power output of 1.25 megawatts.

The contract was a challenge for the NAVFAC Southwest Energy Team to award. The search for a wind turbine power generation system started in January 2006. The team discovered United States manufacturers were unable to provide a system that met the base's requirements such as low quantity, unique capacity and rapid delivery date. They found a system that met these requirements in Sweden. A purchase from a Swedish manufacturer required a waiver. After completing a determination and findings for nonavailability of a U.S. manufacturer and obtaining approval from NAVFAC Headquarters for such procurement, the awarding of the $4.5 million contract proceeded on Nov. 26, 2007.

"Faced with numerous challenges and hurdles, the team demonstrated unparalleled persistence and determination ensuring the award of this contact," said David Deiranieh, NAVFAC Southwest Public Works Utilities and Energy Management product line coordinator. SCE is providing design and construction services to install the wind turbine power generation system. "This wind turbine will be an important asset to MCLB Barstow," said Phu Vu, NAVFAC Southwest senior program leader for the Energy Management Team. "Not only does it expect to satisfy at least a third of the base's brown power requirement and replace it with green power, it provides an emergency power source during a brown out condition if this ever happens at MCLB Barstow."