WASHINGTON (October 01, 2014) – The U.S. Army has awarded a contract for up to 100 percent of Fort Drum’s on-site energy requirements to ReEnergy Black River LLC, a subsidiary of ReEnergy Holdings LLC.
The large-scale, 28 megawatts (MW) of electricity from a renewable energy Biomass Generation Facility (BGF), project is a joint effort between the Army’s Energy Initiatives Task Force (EITF), Fort Drum, DLA Energy, and ReEnergy.
ReEnergy was competitively selected and a Notice of Intent to Award was released February 19, 2014. During the subsequent months, ReEnergy and the Army project team worked to finalize the technical and legal details of the project. A signing ceremony is planned for October 30th at Fort Drum.
The final contract, a 20-year supply agreement from a renewable resource, also includes the provisioning, operation and maintenance of approximately four miles of new transmission line connecting Fort Drum’s north and south substations.
The BGF system capacity is 60 MW, which exceeds Fort Drum’s peak load (28 MW) and will provide electricity to the utility grid.
The project meets the Army’s energy security objectives by providing Fort Drum with energy to maintain mission critical operations during times of regional grid outages. Fort Drum will remain connected to the National Grid as a trusted source of power in the event of an on-site outage at the biomass generation facility.
The Army is committed to executing large-scale renewable energy projects and is currently working on over two dozen projects in 14 states.
“EITF projects continue to set the example for innovative partnering opportunities among the Army, other federal agencies and private industry,” explained Honorable Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. “I applaud the significant efforts and teamwork to move this project forward. This renewable energy project supports the Army’s energy security goals and commitment to the President of deploying one gigawatt of renewable energy by 2025.”