Net Zero Fort Carson

Net Zero Fort Carson
Author: Andrew Procter
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre:
ISBN:

Military bases resemble small cities and face similar sustainability challenges. As pilot studies in the U.S. Army Net Zero program, 17 locations are moving to 100% renewable energy, zero depletion of water resources, and/or zero waste to landfill by 2020. Some bases target net zero in a single area, such as water, whereas two bases, including Fort Carson, Colorado, target net zero in all three areas. We investigated sustainability strategies that appear when multiple areas (energy, water, and waste) are integrated. A system dynamics model is used to simulate urban metabolism through Fort Carson's energy, water, and waste systems. Integrated scenarios reduce environmental impact up to 46% from the 2010 baseline, whereas single-dimension scenarios (energy-only, water-only, and waste-only) reduce impact, at most, 20%. Energy conserving technologies offer mutual gains, reducing annual energy use 18% and water use 15%. Renewable energy sources present trade-offs: Concentrating solar power could supply 11% of energy demand, but increase water demand 2%. Waste to energy could supply 40% of energy demand and reduce waste to landfill >80%, but increase water demand between 1% and 22% depending on cooling system and waste tonnage. Outcomes depend on how the Fort Carson system is defined, because some components represent multiple net zero areas (food represents waste and energy), and some actions require embodied resources (energy generation potentially requires water and off-base feedstock). We suggest that integrating multiple net zero goals can lead to lower environmental impact for military bases.

Sustainable Cities and Military Installations

Sustainable Cities and Military Installations
Author: Igor Linkov
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 428
Release: 2013-11-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400771614

Access to reliable and affordable energy, water, and services is an important determinant of the prosperity of cities along with effective mission sustainment at military installations. The idea for this book was conceived at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) in June 2012 in Hella, Iceland. The workshop was attended by 50 scientists, engineers, and policymakers representing 15 different nations and multiple fields of expertise, reflecting the global and interdisciplinary nature of climate change and sustainability research. The focus of the workshop was on ways in which military installations and small cities can integrate energy, water, and infrastructure sustainability strategies into city and installation management plans that account for climate change uncertainties. The organization of the book reflects major topic sessions and discussions during the workshop.

Green Defense Technology

Green Defense Technology
Author: Michael Evan Goodsite
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017-03-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9789401775984

This book focuses on the ways in which military installations and small cities can implement and integrate triple net planning and energy, water, and waste sustainability strategies into broad installation operational management, arrive at the best decision, create policy and communicate effectively to stakeholders. It explores current and emerging technologies, methods, and frameworks for energy conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy within the context of triple net zero implementation practice. Recognizing that the challenge extends beyond finding technological solutions to achieve triple net zero outcomes, the contributions also address the need for a systemic view in the planning phase, as well as adequate communication and policy measures and incentives.

Green Defense Technology

Green Defense Technology
Author: Michael Evan Goodsite
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2017-03-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401776008

This book focuses on the ways in which military installations and small cities can implement and integrate triple net planning and energy, water, and waste sustainability strategies into broad installation operational management, arrive at the best decision, create policy and communicate effectively to stakeholders. It explores current and emerging technologies, methods, and frameworks for energy conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy within the context of triple net zero implementation practice. Recognizing that the challenge extends beyond finding technological solutions to achieve triple net zero outcomes, the contributions also address the need for a systemic view in the planning phase, as well as adequate communication and policy measures and incentives.

Reducing the Cost of Operational Water on Military Bases Through Modeling, Optimization, and Control

Reducing the Cost of Operational Water on Military Bases Through Modeling, Optimization, and Control
Author: Corey Matthew James
Publisher:
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2017
Genre:
ISBN:

Military municipal water systems provide safe and clean water to the surrounding community while also supporting the intense and often unpredictable training schedules of the tenant units. Much like their civilian counterparts, military water systems are also consumers of great amounts of energy and capital. As a part of the Army Net Zero program in 2011, an annual water inventory conducted on eight U.S. Army installations concluded that consumption was 5.5 billion gallons. Using the Environmental Protection Agency’s average national estimate of 1,500 kWh of energy consumed for every 1,000 gallons of treated water, it is readily apparent that the department of defense is a heavy consumer of both water and energy. Because the scale of the military’s usage is so vast, so too is their waste. Waste in water systems is common and commonly neglected, as many were initially constructed decades ago and the commodity that they transport is relatively inexpensive. However, recent droughts affecting regions of the United States highlighted the need to conserve and avoid waste, regardless of the commodity price. The efficiency of water systems is highly dependent upon developing accurate models and using those models to accurately deal with disturbances such as demand and chlorine concentration. This work extends water distribution system modeling, optimization, and control to a military setting where constraints are tighter for resiliency purposes, demands are often unpredictable, and saving money and water improves defense capabilities. First, a discretized nonlinear, equation based model of a known system at an existing U.S. Army installation that accurately predicts system behavior under typical demand considerations. The model is calibrated for accuracy using actual system data from a military installation and employed in a nonlinear optimization program to study reduction of costs, minimizing waste, and improvements in energy efficiency. Demand profiles were constructed from residential data and scaled to better represent demand on military bases. With very little adjustment, this model can be used to optimize similar systems in the military inventory. Water and energy savings exceed 10% in the optimized system, which predicts the Army could save greater than $1.5 million per year in the continental United States if rigorous optimization was conducted on storage and pumping at every base. It is shown that a reduced order empirical model is a viable alternative to the computationally expensive equation based approach. The empirical model is used to implement model predictive control, providing the system protection against large and unpredictable disturbances. This method adds an additional manipulated variable, chlorine injection, to ensure efficient constraint compliance. Experimental results show this method further supports the aforementioned savings in the optimized system alone, while efficiently handling disturbances. This research closes previous gaps in research, particularly on military installations. First, it serves to minimize the system volume, or excess water on hand, while meeting all demands and strict system constraints dictated by resiliency and emergency preparedness. Secondly, this work uses a nonlinear model predictive control structure to deal with large and unpredictable disturbances that occur uniquely on military installations. The feedforward control action integrated into the controller is particularly effective at minimizing disturbances on inlet concentration.

Defense Infrastructure

Defense Infrastructure
Author: Brian J. Lepore
Publisher:
Total Pages: 18
Release: 2016
Genre: Energy conservation
ISBN:

"House Report 114-102 accompanying a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 included a provision for GAO to review DOD's progress and savings from net zero installation initiatives. This report describes the extent to which DOD: 1. developed policies and goals for an integrated net zero strategy for energy, water, and waste management at its military installations; and 2. has identified the potential costs and benefits of implementing net zero initiatives. GAO reviewed relevant federal mandates, statutes, and DOD and service-specific policies and reports to determine DOD's net zero strategy and goals for energy, water, and waste management. GAO also interviewed or requested information from relevant officials within DOD and the services about funding, monitoring, potential costs and benefits, and lessons learned. GAO visited Fort Carson, CO because it is one of two installations the Army identified as a pilot for energy, water, and waste management and contacted a nongeneralizable sample of 10 Army installations, selected based on their progress toward meeting energy, water, and solid waste diversion goals in fiscal year 2014 to obtain information regarding policies, goals, potential costs, and benefits of implementing net zero initiatives"--Preliminary page.