Photo from U.S. Army.
U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii (USAG-HI) more than doubled on-site distributed energy resources and tripled its renewable energy generation, at no capital cost, across three Army installations on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.
Project Details
USAG-HI partnered with the Army Office of Energy Initiatives and Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) to develop a biofuel/diesel electric power plant that provides 50 megawatts (MW) of generation and microgrid services to power mission facilities, barracks, airfield, and homes on three installations. USAG-HI also installed an additional 3.6 MW of rooftop PV for a total of 18 MW with enhanced inverter settings to provide improved grid support.
The power stations mitigate renewable variability and provide black-start services to increase grid reliability for the entire island of Oahu. The power plant also serves the local community, except in emergency situations when the plant would be used only to fulfill installation energy resilience needs.
Petroleum accounts for nearly two-thirds of Hawaii's electricity generation, and because it is imported from Indonesia, it is subject to competition with China, India, and Japan for oil. This import dependence causes higher oil prices to lead to higher electricity prices. Thus, the installations' electric costs are more than $0.20 per kilowatt-hour, making a compelling case for renewable energy.
Project costs of $1.5 million covered the creation of an environmental impact statement, a socioeconomic report, and project contracting/facilitation services. The Army does not pay any premium for the microgrid service. Because the plant functions as a public utility asset, the cost is recovered through the utility rate distributed across all ratepayers.
USAG-HI obtained a waiver to the Competition in Contracting Act and used a sole source justification to lease the land to the Hawaiian Electric Company through noncompetitive procurement, because the power plant serves three non-contiguous Army installations. As such, HECO is the only entity that can distribute power (transport electric energy across land parcels with different owners) outside the grid boundaries via its high voltage transmission lines. This was the first sole source justification used to contract with a utility, as opposed to quasi-federal agencies such as the Tennessee Valley Authority.
This power plant is secure from cyberattacks because the whole control system is manual; the system is not remotely controllable via a communication link. The new plants are more secure than other power plants, as they are located away from the shoreline and thereby better protected from hurricanes, tropical storms, and rising sea levels.
Results
USAG-HI increased its on-site distributed energy resources from 32 to 85 MW and grew its renewable energy generating capacity from 14 to 45 GWh. The 50-MW Biofuel Schofield Generating Station and microgrid, 3.6 MW of rooftop PV, and an existing 18 MW of demand response and 15 MW of PV now provide twice as much power as needed for 19 Army installations on Oahu. These projects also provide nearly four times the number of firm resources required to mitigate variability in wind and PV generation. As a result, USAG-HI is included in the Hawaii Integrated Grid Planning process as a major contributor toward energy resilience and renewable integration.
New digital protection relays were also installed in Army distribution switchgear to allow the breakers to properly function in grid connected and microgrid configurations.
The plant can guarantee resilience for 37 years (the projected life of the power plants). In conjunction with emergency backup generators at critical assets, the new plants can provide on-site fuel capacity for 13 days for the three installations.
Lessons Learned
A recent energy resilience evaluation across Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Army Airfield, and Field Station Kunia in Hawaii demonstrated that the locations could be isolated and powered during a significant outage to ensure mission continuity.
Photo from HECO.
The power plant is capable of utilizing biofuel or conventional diesel. While 100% biofuel use would ideally maximize meeting renewable goals for the Army and HECO, an amount of 2 million gallons per year was agreed upon to address the higher cost of biofuel and address ratepayer concerns. With no major local biodiesel suppliers on Oahu, biodiesel is shipped via barge from a supplier that collects waste cooking oils from Hawaii's Big Island but diesel is plentiful maintaining resilience.
The project partners each had their own procurement processes that needed to mesh. These partners included the Army (Pentagon and Army Installation Management Command), Army Office of Energy Initiatives, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Huntsville Center, and HECO. By working together, all parties were able to meet requirements of federal contracting and the Public Utility Commission regulatory approval process to provide a mutually beneficial project that provides renewable energy and resilience to the Army and island of Oahu.
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