Energy, water technology demonstration programs offer opportunities

Published Jan. 1, 2013
A Fort Wainwright air curtain firing range facility, demonstrated with ITTP funding, enables Soldiers to complete live-fire training in subzero temperatures.

A Fort Wainwright air curtain firing range facility, demonstrated with ITTP funding, enables Soldiers to complete live-fire training in subzero temperatures.

Jan. 1, 2013

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill.--Two technology demonstration and validation programs use Department of Defense (DOD) installations as test beds — the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) and the Installation Technology Transition Program (ITTP). These programs ultimately aim to improve energy security and to save energy and water. Both seek willing host sites, and getting involved is easier than you may think.

ESTCP funds two- to three-year projects

ESTCP is a DoD-funded program with the goal to, “identify and demonstrate the most promising innovative and cost-effective
technologies and methods that address DoD’s high-priority environmental requirements.” For the past three years, an Energy and Water Program has been included to which both federal and non-federal organizations can apply for grants. The proposer must work with a DoD installation that is willing to be a host site for the demonstration.

Areas of interest in the ESTCP Energy and Water Program include:

  • technologies that support sustainable building design and operations, including innovative energy-efficient lighting, heating and air-conditioning systems;
  • renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, and other distributed-energy generation sources;
  • systems that enable better management of energy resources, such as improved energy storage and control techniques; and
  • methods and technologies to reduce water demand.

ESTCP issues an annual call for proposals, announced in the January timeframe. The call usually goes to Directorates of Public Works through garrisons following a distribution by the Installation Management Command.

After a series of reviews culminating with an oral presentation, successful projects are announced in the October timeframe. Funding is usually made available during the early part of the following calendar year. Typical projects are two to three years in  duration, including site preparation, installation, operation and performance verification, and reporting.

A listing and description of the projects funded under the fiscal 2012 program can be found at http://estcp.org/News-and- Events/News-Announcements/Program-News/Department-of-Defense-announces-new- installation-energy-technology-demonstrations- for-FY-2012. This link includes information about past projects along with directions for responding  to the solicitation.

Army representatives who participate in  the ESTCP Energy and Water Program Technical Committee include Paul Volkman, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment; and this article’s author. Both can provide additional information on how Army garrisons can participate in this program. Contact the author at 217- 373-5864 or  Volkman at 703-697-3765.

ITTP demonstrates emerging technologies

ITTP is funded each year by the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management (OACSIM) to demonstrate technologies on Army and Army Reserve installations. Projects with the highest probability of being chosen for funding are at locations run by U.S. Army personnel — not joint base locations run by another service on behalf of the Army — and address issues found at more  than one Army installation.

As does the ESTCP Energy and Water Program, ITTP issues a call for proposals each year, but  announced in the March timeframe. After a series of reviews, successful projects are announced in November. Funding is made  available the following calendar year. All ITTP projects are a maximum of one year in duration.

An example of a recent ITTP demonstration involved emplacing an innovative air curtain facility at an outdoor firing range at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Soldiers rotating through the fort need to complete a full schedule of training, which includes qualifying on their weapons at the  firing ranges. In midwinter, due to the bitter and dangerously cold temperatures, the training is often delayed until warmer weather. The air curtain facility making it tolerable for Soldiers to be outdoors for this critical activity.

Two other recently completed ITTP projects involved sustainment management systems. One tested admixtures for curing concrete at low  temperatures, and the other demonstrated building integrated photovoltaics.

For questions about ITTP, contact the OACSIM program manager, Phil Columbus, at Philip.R.Columbus.civ@mail.mil, or Kelly Dilks at Kelly.M.Dilks@us.army.mil.

POC is Franklin H. Holcomb, 217-373-5864, franklin.h.holcomb@usace.army.mil.

Franklin H. Holcomb is chief, Energy Branch, ERDC’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Champaign, Ill.

This article was published in Public Works Digest, Vol. XXIV, No. 5, October/November/December 2012, p. 36.