Fort Riley Kansas leaders, partners break ground on energy saving contract

By Maria Childs, Fort Riley Public AffairsJune 22, 2017

An energy savings partnership was reaffirmed at a ground breaking ceremony at Fort Riley, Kansas June 13
LEFT TO RIGHT: Command Sgt. Maj. James Collins, United States Army Garrison Fort Riley; Albert Marin, programs director for the Huntsville Engineering and Support Center; Joseph Cvetas, executive vice president for Southland Industries; Sandy Walker,... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT RILEY, Kan. -- A 22-year partnership between Fort Riley, Southland Energy, Installation Management Command and the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center in Huntsville, Alabama, was re-affirmed at the Energy Savings Performance Contract groundbreaking ceremony June 13 at Ware Parade Field.

This first phase of a multi-phased ESPC project at Fort Riley will provide $37,721,463 in facility improvements across 280 buildings. These improvements will be paid for from the $2,447,496 in annual cost savings generated and will achieve more than $92 million in savings over a 22-year period.

According to Mike Witmer, utility and energy branch chief for the Directorate of Public Works, the goal of the contract is to meet the congressionally mandated energy reduction goal of 25 percent by 2025. The project guarantees Fort Riley $2.4 million savings per year which equates to a 14.8 percent reduction of energy and 10 percent reduction in water consumption.

The project will provide new airfield lighting, new street lighting, new LED interior lighting, central chilled water plant upgrades, heating, ventilation and air conditioning and control upgrades and water consumption reduction measures.

Col. John D. Lawrence, Fort Riley garrison commander, said this project was initiated in September 2014.

"It was then and remains Fort Riley's objective to minimize energy consumption, costs, and reliance on non-renewable energy resources while meeting all operational mission requirements and providing quality working and living conditions," he said. "With the energy savings performance contract now signed, Fort Riley residents, Soldiers, civilians, and U.S. taxpayers will reap additional benefits. This ESPC is paid for through energy and operational savings, which allows Fort Riley to maximize our Public Works budget without increasing cost to taxpayers."

Lawrence said because the construction phase of the project is scheduled to be completed by January 2019, it allows Fort Riley to meet federal mandates for a 25 percent reduction from 2015 energy consumption levels -- six years ahead of schedule.

"The 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley are committed to energy security and sustainability … I am extremely proud that Fort Riley can be part of such a worthwhile endeavor," he said.

Albert Marin, programs director for the Huntsville Engineering and Support Center, said the Army has made it a priority to protect the environment to preserve valuable resources for future generations and also to ensure the land, water and air space that needed to sustain military readiness is available.

"Fort Riley has and continues to be a leading contributor to change in the energy sector," he said. "The ESPC we are gathered to celebrate allows your installation to reach the congressionally mandated 20 percent energy reduction goal from 2015 consumption levels six years ahead of schedule."

He said this particular ESPC is also unique because it doesn't just focus on a single energy or water reduction measure.

"It does not focus on a single energy conservation measure, in fact, it takes several ECMs, or energy conservation measures, and bundles them into a single project," he said. "This project is important for many reasons. First off, it gains Fort Riley energy security, resiliency and sustainability which are all crucial to future mission accomplishments. Partnering with industry is our new normal so the installation and Southland Industries willingness to partner for this project is indicative of the installation, Army and nation's business strategy. Saving energy and being great protectors of our environments not only benefits us but also benefits our nation and its future generations."

Marin said Southland Industries is one of the many partners of the Army to meet the congressionally mandated energy reduction goal.

Joseph Cvetas, executive vice president for Southland Industries, said the goals for the project are simple. They include safety, minimizing any disruption to the daily operations of the installation and achieving the targeted energy and operational savings to keep Fort Riley the best place to live and train for service members.

"Developing an energy savings performance contract of this magnitude is no easy undertaking," he said. "For the past year, we have collaborated with the Fort Riley Public Works team, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Army Installation Management Command to design this project. In order to be successful, we need a strong partnership with all stakeholders … this project has that strong support from the DPW team. This project will bring much needed infrastructure improvements and increase operational efficiencies."