ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- The energy program at Anniston Army Depot has been quietly reducing the depot's energy consumption without any disturbances to the depot's daily operation.

ANAD's program was initiated by several governmental energy management policies and mandates.

The Army, as a whole, resolved to reduce its energy consumption by at least 25 percent, or 2.5 percent annually, by fiscal year 2025.

These reductions are across the entire department of the Army.

ANAD and 21 other installations are under the Army Material Command. Each of the AMC installations is evaluated annually on their achievements with and progression toward energy reduction goals.

Anniston Army Depot achieved a 30 percent reduction in energy use intensity, which is energy use per installation square footage.

The baseline for energy consumption established in fiscal year 2015 of 92.9 MBTU/KSF. The depot's EUI for FY2017 was 64.7 MBTU/KSF.

According to the FY2017 Annual Energy Management and Resilience Report for AMC, ANAD was the top performer of the 22 AMC reporting installations in energy reduction.

This is the second year Anniston has had the distinction of being the top performer in energy reduction.

The installation's energy program has been successful in advancing the Army's goals of reducing energy and water consumption as well as improving energy and water security due to teamwork, partnerships and support from the directorates of Resource Management, Risk Management, Emergency Services, the Anniston Contracting Office and Alabama Power.

RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS

ANAD partnered with Alabama Power to implement an overarching Utility Energy Services Contract with 14 Energy Conservation Measures.

The UESC was completed ahead of the July 2018 deadline.

The $22 million UESC involved more than 230 buildings and the entire central boiler plant was downsized and upgraded with modern efficient boilers.

These conservation measures will result in an estimated annual energy reduction of 193,000 MMBTU or $2 million in avoided cost.

The depot has reduced the use of steam as a heating source, saving 25,442 MMBTU, an annual cost avoidance of $271,000 and improving ANAD's work environment.

The central compressed air plant has seen several improvements over the years, including a variable load air dryer, 30,000 gallon receiving tank and automated controls, resulting in reduced pressure fluctuations of 15 psi to less than 1 psi.

Distribution losses of compressed air to production buildings were improved by installing control valves at each building. These valves, controlled by the Energy Management Control System, are to be closed during non-production hours, minimizing off-duty air leaks in the building.

The energy savings are estimated at 1,478,775 kWh or $59,151 annually.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

ANAD has completed two projects that address the Army's renewable energy goals.

ANAD installed a ground-coupled heat pump system at ANAD's Headquarters building in 2009. This was the first major renewable project for ANAD, resulting in annual avoided cost of $68,000.

In 2014, the Office of Energy Initiatives approached ANAD with an opportunity to partner with Alabama Power to construct a 10 megawatt solar array on-site.

In July 2017 solar generation array began operation and power generation at a capacity of around 7.4 megawatts. The system now provides solar-generated electricity that is consumed at ANAD.

Renewable energy, energy resilience and energy security have been part of ANADs long range plan and that focus has only increased with Army Directive 2017-07.

Installations must now address a new goal to be resilient, or off the grid, for a period of 14 days. This will be a major undertaking for ANAD, but one major part has been defined and funding is now being requested.

Anniston is leading the way in the energy front and is committed to a future where ANAD's viability will make the installation a leader in supplying our war fighters with the best equipment in the world.

The energy program has been successful due to the hard work of everyone at ANAD. It will need the continuing support from all to achieve and surpass the Army's energy goals. Army Strong!