Favorable Winds Help Tooele Army Depot Go Green; Increase Public-Private Partnerships

It must have appeared a bit strange when Jay Weyland walked across Tooele Army Depot (TEAD) holding up a six-foot pole with an anemometer fastened to the top of it.

But Weyland, who is energy manager for the depot, wanted to find the windiest spot on the 23,610-acre military installation, which is located 30 minutes west of Salt Lake City. Winds across the depot generally average about 14 miles per hour, a good clue as to why all of the trees lining the depot's boulevard lean to the north, and a good reason to consider installing a wind turbine there.

Weyland's preliminary legwork and application in 2005 to the Department of the Army's energy conservation and investment program led to a grant for the construction of a wind turbine that was just completed earlier this month. When it starts generating power on July 1, the 262-foot turbine will produce 1.5 megawatts of electricity--enough to power 300 to 400 homes--and save the depot approximately $206,625 per year.

"TEAD is leading the way in renewable energy solutions and going green will enable us to remain always at the ready," says Col. Yolanda Dennis-Lowman, Depot Commander. "This is the first turbine for the depot, and hopefully more will come."

SolarWalls
Another of Weyland's renewable energy projects involves SolarWall® technology that pre-heats replacement air before it enters a building, substantially offsetting the traditional heating load. Weyland says he has received enough funding from the Army to install the technology on the south-facing walls of 11 buildings at the depot, but with nearly 200 occupied and energized buildings available, the potential for additional energy savings is enormous.

Once the wind turbine and SolarWall systems are on line, the depot will be very close to achieving a requirement that all federal facilities receive 7.5 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2013. But Weyland has no intention to stop there. He'd like to see the depot become totally self-sufficient in its energy use and is currently studying the potential for geothermal development as well as additional wind turbines.

Public-Private Partnerships
While Weyland's entrepreneurship is lowering the depot's carbon footprint, Dave Ayala, chief of the depot's business development team, is leading a "big-time" effort to bring more work to the depot from public-private partnering opportunities and even enhanced use lease agreements.

Through one partnership currently in place, Safety Management Company utilizes depot facilities and workforce to conduct product explosive sensitivity and reactivity testing for military and commercial explosives.

"The company uses the depot's test site for about 30 weeks out of the year," Ayala says. "It's a great partnership arrangement."

The depot's rural location, convenient transportation corridor, and significant resources (1,093 buildings, 902 igloos and storage capacity of 2,483,000 square feet) make it an exceptional location for additional public-private partnerships, and Ayala and his team are working hard to recruit additional opportunities.

Ammunition Peculiar Equipment
Best known for its mission to store, renovate, and demilitarize conventional munitions, the depot employs approximately 500 civilians. It also serves as the national inventory control point for ammunition peculiar equipment. In that role base employees develop, fabricate, modify, store and distribute ammunition peculiar equipment to all of the armed services and other customers worldwide. Ayala says ammunition peculiar equipment is used in the maintenance and demilitarization of munitions for all of the Department of Defense.

Overall capabilities at the depot include engineering, explosives performance testing, logistical support, machining, fabrication, assembly, repair, robotics, non-destructive testing, demilitarization, laser cutting, and slurry emulsion manufacturing.

Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence
Earlier this year the depot was designated as a Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence (CITE), which will allow it to better compete for private-sector work, because private companies no longer have to go through Joint Munitions Command to purchase the depot's services The depot is one of only two installations within the Joint Munitions Command to receive the CITE designation,

Ayala says the CITE designation means the depot is recognized as a key player within the army system and that it should help garner additional work from both the government and private sectors.

"The depot's future will be secured, in some degree, by establishing more public-private partnerships, which in turn help us lower our operating costs and make us more viable in the depot system."