Hill AFB receives energy incentive award from Rocky Mountain Power

  • Published
  • By Todd Cromar, 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

The 75th Air Base Wing was presented an energy incentive award by Rocky Mountain Power April 14.

In total, Hill's energy savings projects will save 12,882,649 kilowatt hours a year, which translates into a cost savings of $621,264 per year. The base qualified for a total incentive of $1,405,909 that Hill AFB will utilize to fund additional energy efficiency and resiliency efforts.

Steve Naegle, Rocky Mountain Power Wattsmart business project manager for Cascade Energy, presented the award in the form of an oversized check to base leadership for Hill’s participation in the electric company’s Wattsmart program.

This program provides various cash or bill credit incentives, depending on the type and scope of projects, to businesses and homeowners completing energy conservation efforts.

Hill AFB has received these utility incentives for years, with this award representing the cumulative incentives related to three separate projects that were completed last year and part of the Energy Savings Performance Contract program to upgrade the installation’s infrastructure and energy systems.

“The Rocky Mountain Power energy awards consist of two items, one being the presentation of an incentive check and the second is recognition of the individuals that made these projects successful,” said Nick King, Hill’s energy and utility manager. “All three projects were a joint effort between the 75th Air Base Wing and the Ogden Air Logistics Center, consisting of energy efficiency changes and improvements to the ALC’s processes.”

Projects included:

• Dip tank improvements were made in building 507, consisting of automated tank covers and controls installation, in order to modulate supply and exhaust air volume, dependent on whether lids are open or closed, while still maintaining required air flow in the facility.

This upgrade will save 937,682 kilowatt hours a year, which translates into a cost savings of $38,576 per year and qualified for an incentive of $140,652. The recognition recipient of this award was Matthew Larsen, Ogden ALC.

• Industrial ventilation improvements were made in building 220, including controls and sensor installation that allow for modulation of air flow and humidity depending on the operational mode of an individual paint booth, whether it be a preparation, paint, or curing booth.

This upgrade will save 3,151,969 kilowatt hours a year, which translates into a cost savings of $131,280 per year and qualified for an incentive of $246,341. The recognition recipients of this award were Shane Jepson, James Gill and Kurt Erickson, Ogden ALC.

• Compressed air system upgrades, included installation of controls, replacement of air driers, and repair of leaking distribution pipes on the compressed air loops 1 and 2, that supplies compressed air to the majority of the industrial area of the installation as well as some standalone facility compressed air systems that support ALC processes.

This upgrade will save 8,792,898 kilowatt hours a year, which translates into a cost savings of $451,408 per year and qualified for an incentive of $1,018,915.

The recognition recipients of this award were Fernando Vazquez, Jeison Ruiz, Lance McFarland, Dusten Stewart, Jared Baker, and Matt Beck, Ogden ALC,

“The compressed air system upgrades are what really drove the interest from Rocky Mountain Power for the award presentation, as the incentive of over $1 million dollars, is one of the largest incentives the company has ever issued for a single project,” King said.

The installation energy project management team was recognized for their efforts in support of all three of these projects. Recipients of this award were Garth Buetler and Aaron Erickson from the Ogden ALC and King, Brian Walsh, Daniel Hill, Dustin Stump, Larry Hamburg, Michael Heinze, and Karen Bastian from the 75th Civil Engineer Group.

All of the incentives are processed through the 75th CEG energy management office, King said, and when funded by a reimbursable tenant those award incentives are passed on to the tenant as a bill credit on their invoice.

In this case, the three highlighted projects were part of the recently completed contract that was funded by the 75th ABW and the funds will be reinvested to execute additional energy savings projects across the installation.