KITTERY, ME – As the Department of Defense continues to implement a comprehensive clean energy strategy for military installations across the country, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today toured renewable energy projects currently underway at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery.

“Portsmouth Naval Shipyard continues to be on the vanguard of the Defense Department’s innovative new strategy to embrace clean and renewable energies,” Senator King said. “These award-winning, cutting-edge projects will not only help to ensure installation security through energy independence, but they’ll also save taxpayer dollars and reduce the shipyard’s environmental footprint. The example PNSY has set is a model for other defense facilities across the country, and it’s one I’m proud to have in Maine.”

In recent years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has launched several initiatives to reduce its fossil fuel consumption by improving energy efficiency and transitioning to renewable energy to meet operational and installation needs. On April 16^th, the DOD released a comprehensive energy policy that seeks to: 

• improve energy performance of our weapons, installations, and military forces;
• diversify and expand energy supplies and sources, including renewable energy sources and alternative fuels;
• adapt core business processes – including requirements, acquisition, planning, programming, budgeting, and execution – to improve the DOD’s use and management of energy;
• analyze and mitigate risks related to our energy use; and
• promote innovation for our equipment as well as education and training for our personnel, valuing energy as a mission-essential resource.

Having undertaken projects that promote energy efficiency, waste diversion, and LEED buildings, and having established a public transportation bus route for employees, which saves 11,500 gallons of fuel per year, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is a nationally recognized leader in energy efficiency and sustainability efforts. In March 2014, the Department of the Navy announced that the shipyard had won the 2013 Chief of Naval Operations Environmental Award for Sustainability, Industrial Installation, which recognizes PNSY’s outstanding achievements in Navy environmental programs. Last year, PNSY also received a leadership award from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its outstanding environmental record.

The visit also highlighted a recent report from The Pew Charitable Trust that underscores the progress made by the DOD in embracing and implementing clean energy initiatives and, in particular, its success in leveraging innovative financing mechanisms, like performance contracts for energy efficiency projects and power purchase agreements, that save the military money at no upfront cost to the taxpayer. To read the report, click HERE.

Senator King toured the following two projects:

Building 306: A solar wall is currently under construction on Building 306 to harness energy from the sun for heating purposes. When completed, the project is estimated to save 2,200 mmBTUs of thermal energy, or roughly $22,000 in fuel costs, which are used to generate steam each year. The project is also a test for future solar installations on other buildings around the shipyard.

Building 72: Supported by an Energy Savings Performance Contract, energy upgrades, including two new compressors and new condensate return lines, are underway at Building 72 which will significantly reduce electricity consumption. The project is estimated to see reductions of more than 24 million BTUs and 18 million gallons of water at a cost savings of more than $8.4 million and is estimated to reduce the carbon dioxide impact by 1,841 tons.

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