The U.S. Army Reserve is focusing on Powering The Mission during the month of October. Energy Action Month is an annual observance for the federal government to provide awareness and education on energy efficiency, conservation, and resilience. The Army Reserve is a leader in enhancing energy resilience, prioritizing projects that provide reliable and secure energy from on-site sources when there are disruptions to local power grids.
From the electricity that powers facilities to the fuel that powers vehicles, energy touches nearly every aspect of the Army Reserve’s mission. With over 200 thousand Soldiers and Civilian employees operating within 41.2 million square feet of building space spread across the nation, the Army Reserve is a major energy consumer. Energy access is essential for resilience, meaning, if the energy supply is disrupted, Army Reserve facilities still have the power needed to mobilize, deploy, and win.
“We’re focused on long-term, sustainable energy that ensures power projection when its needed,” explained Paul Wirt, Chief of the Sustainment and Resiliency Division, Army Reserve Installation Management Directorate. “Investing in projects like on-site clean renewable sources, battery storage systems, microgrids, building control systems, and electric vehicles enables us to have access to secure energy while eliminating fossil fuel supply issues that commonly occur during manmade and natural threats. Having that uninterrupted energy helps our Soldiers maintain the Army Reserve mission as well as support federal organizations when our communities need them the most – combatting emergency wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, and more.”
To support strategic energy initiatives that modernize facilities, the Army Reserve is facilitating and supporting the adoption of new, novel, and emerging technologies through 12 studies, pilots, and/or demonstrations to verify performance in Army Reserve facilities. Five of the 12 demonstrations involve external partners and include $4.88 million of co-funding. The Army Reserve was awarded three Environmental Security Technology Certification Program projects through a competitive selection process. Four of the 12 projects are advanced analytic applications building on the Army Reserve’s Enterprise Building Control Systems. The latest project will evaluate a containerized deployable photovoltaic and microgrid hosted at the 88th Readiness Division.
“Fort Hunter Liggett, an Army Reserve-funded installation in California, recently commissioned an electric microgrid after a decade of strategic energy initiatives and projects,” added Wirt. “In the past decade, the installation has reduced its energy use intensity by 63 percent with a combination of traditional energy efficiency projects, utilizing geothermal and air-source heat pump systems for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning and domestic hot water applications to reduce its fossil fuel use, installing advanced utility meters, and setting up an Integrated Installation Controls Center to manage energy demand and delivery during normal and contingency operations.”
In fiscal year 2023, the Army Reserve realized a seven percent decrease in energy use intensity (EUI) across the nation compared to fiscal year 2022. Fort McCoy, an Army Reserve-funded installation subjected to brutally cold Wisconsin winters, led with a 22 percent decrease in EUI. Also in fiscal year 2023, the Army Reserve’s 9th Mission Support Command (headquartered in Hawaii) and Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico produced 30 percent and 14 percent, respectively, of their electricity needs from renewable energy.
“Through industry and utility partnerships, the Army Reserve is able to implement advanced energy technologies that will strengthen warfighter readiness,” said Wirt. “We’re reducing our reliance on regional grids while reducing energy risks in our local communities. Regardless of the conditions presented, Army Reserve-funded installations will stand ready to take their place in the fight to power the mission.”
