Honeywell, a diversified technology and manufacturing company, has installed two solar arrays at Fort Dix, New Jersey, a training and mobilization center for the US Army Reserve and National Guard. The solar installations are part of a $17.6m program that will decrease energy consumption at the post by almost 10% and water use by more than 5%.
The program includes various energy-efficient facility and infrastructure upgrades. It would help Fort Dix meet federal efficiency and renewable energy mandates, among other benefits.
Congressman John Adler, who represents Joint Base McGuire/Dix/Lakehurst, said: “The program will help Fort Dix cut operating costs, increase energy efficiency and reduce its environmental impact. I am pleased the program is being led by Honeywell, a great New Jersey technology and manufacturing company.”
The 3,200 photovoltaic panels that make up the arrays would generate approximately 815,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, that can power approximately 75 homes per year. The arrays are mounted on the roofs of the Army Reserve 99th Regional Support Command Headquarters and the post’s Strategic Deployment Site Building, a temperature-controlled warehouse for equipment storage. The panels would generate enough energy to meet the power needs of both facilities, with excess power distributed back onto the grid.
Fort Dix is expected to finance the program through energy and operational savings guaranteed by Honeywell under a performance contract with the Army, approximately $1.2m per year for the next 20 years. In addition, the program is expected to produce approximately $20m in excess savings for the post. The work would also decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 33m pounds per year, which is equivalent to removing 3,200 cars from the road.
Along with the solar panels, Honeywell installed controls to optimize the cycling time and efficiency of natural gas boilers at around 80 facilities, and replaced nine aging boilers at the Visiting Officers’ Quarters (VOQ) and Doughboy Inn with heat pumps and occupancy sensors in each room to reduce the use of heating and air-conditioning equipment.
Additional work included lighting upgrades, and expanding the post’s energy monitoring and control system to better match the heating and cooling delivery with the needs of the soldiers and civilian employees, which results in the decrease in energy costs, while working and training conditions improve. The company also modified the irrigation system at the golf course to use treated water from the post’s wastewater facility, which is expected to reduce annual water consumption by 29 million gallons.
Kevin Madden, vice president of global sales for Honeywell Building Solutions, said: “There is such a range of energy-saving technologies that it can be difficult for organizations to know which to use given their unique situation. Working with the leaders and energy experts at Fort Dix, we identified the retrofits and renewable energy source that would help the post meet its efficiency and climate targets, and provide the greatest return on investment.”