Energy forum gets Hill closer to freedom

  • Published
  • By Lee Anne Hensley
  • Hilltop Times staff
After hosting energy experts from across the nation at the "Connecting Energy to Freedom" forum held last Wednesday at the Salt Palace Convention Center, officials at Hill Air Force Base are poised to take further steps in achieving energy independence.



Approximately 145 key experts in various industries including environmental, logistics, science, technology, academia, military, state and federal agencies came to Salt Lake City from all parts of the United States on April 22 to attain the same goal. "They came because they are all interested in what we are trying to do here at Hill Air Force Base - attaining clean, reliable and sustainable energy," said Lt. Col. Rudy Tessnow, Ogden Air Logistics Center Plans and Programs Directorate, who helped coordinate last week's forum events.



The forum's direction was set by the welcoming remarks by OO-ALC Commander Maj. Gen. Kathleen Close who reinforced Hill AFB's commitment to seeing this goal to its completion. Col. Don Hickman, director for Policy and Plans, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Energy, Environment, Safety and Occupational Health, then spoke about the successful energy projects the Air Force has recently employed, such as the photovoltaic array project at Nellis AFB, Nev., and reinforced the Air Force's interest in exploring biofuel technology.



Richard Walje, Rocky Mountain Power president, assessed the state of energy demand, which is predicted to increase over the years, in comparison to the current supply and variety of energy production in Utah. Walje expressed his industry's desire to move in the same direction as the Air Force in exploring the various renewable energy options that have developed in the recent years.



With those facts in mind, the forum guests separated into working group discussions to present examples of viable energy production technologies in the areas of solar, wind, geothermal, biomass/biofuel and nuclear production. The sixth working group discussion topic dealt with financing options as well as policy and legal issues to consider with each energy technology.



"There are a lot of ideas out there, a lot of great new technologies, and people were really excited during and after the forum," Tessnow reported. "People are still approaching me with new ideas to consider and more experts to contact. It is really neat to receive that level of interest."



One example of the innovative energy projects available includes using the earth's consistent geothermal temperatures to reduce energy use and possibly create energy as well. Hill AFB happens to reside next to a prominent research facility in geothermal studies.



The Department of Defense's own geothermal experts from China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station in California met with prominent researchers at the University of Utah's Energy and Geoscience Institute prior to the event Wednesday. There they gathered information related to harnessing the earth's natural geothermal potential in Hill's local area and other Air Force property in northern Utah.



One way of harnessing the earth's subterranean temperature is through ground-source geothermal heat pumps. This technology circulates water or other liquids through pipes buried in a continuous loop and extract heat from the ground in the winter for delivery to a building and it also removes heat in the summer. Electric power is required to move the heat but not produce it, delivering three-to-four times the energy it consumes, according to published studies by geoscientists.



"We were told there are several buildings in Utah that have been retrofitted with these heat pumps, such as a high school in Salt Lake City that basically does not have a heating or cooling bill unless they use their backup heating and cooling system," Tessnow said. "It's an older, simpler idea that doesn't involve installing a power plant."



Another innovative idea presented at the forum was the use of the Great Salt Lake's algae to make biofuel for aircraft. Tessnow noted that Hill AFB is also in proximity to experts in algae and biofuel studies, as well. "Utah State University has some of the nation's top experts in biofuels and they have a strong program for developing this type of technology. Dr. Pete Zemke from the USU biofuels research lab helped guide the biofuels breakout session. Dr. Jeff Muhs is one of the principals on algae development and although he was not able to attend last week's forum, he provided great information on microalgae development at the energy summit we held back in January."



Other renewable energy options presented at the forum are already being employed at Hill AFB, such as photovoltaic arrays. "We have a new solar array that is being built on base right now and there is certainly more potential for that technology," Tessnow said.



Harnessing wind energy was also considered. Although Hill AFB itself may not have powerful and sustainable winds that would justify a large wind farm project, Tessnow says there are other wind technologies that would be worth taking into account. "There are smaller wind generators that can be mounted on buildings that take advantage of microclimates that generate upward and downward drafts along the building structure."



In order to sort through the many options presented at Wednesday's forum, Hill officials met with Air Force Real Property Agency and Air Force Civil Engineering Support Agency, and the working group facilitators to consolidate the technologies presented at Wednesday's forum into plausible recommendations for base leadership to consider.



"Now we need to formulate a comprehensive, strategic energy plan for the base and we'll be working with the 75th Civil Engineering Group to develop that plan," Tessnow said. "There are so many options available, so we need the strategic energy plan to determine cost-benefit analyses. Depending on the different technologies that we and Air Force senior leadership select, there will be different sets of funding, regulations and policies that govern each of the technologies.

"We must also keep in mind that whatever technology we choose, it must not impact our mission here at Hill Air Force Base. The bottom line is that we want to achieve energy security for Hill Air Force Base and mitigate our demand on the power grid. We need to also work with all units here to formulate the right solutions that meet their needs."



Taking the next steps to choose which technologies are best suited for Hill AFB may seem daunting, but Hill officials know they have support from the Utah state government. During the forum's lunch break, the Energy Policy Advisor to Gov. Jon Huntsman, Dr. Dianne Nielson, reviewed Utah's exploration of renewable energy sources and reiterated the state's cooperative working relationship history with Hill AFB. Representatives from Senators Bennett and Hatch and Congressman Bishop were also in attendance to show their support and enthusiasm for this endeavor.