Navy Region Southwest Leads the Way in Energy, Water Conservation
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS100413-04
4/13/2010
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Heather W. Hines, Navy Region Southwest Public Affairs
SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- With messages of 'energy conservation' and 'reduce your carbon footprint' on the forefront of saving planet Earth, Americans are constantly looking for innovative uses of everyday consumables.
From a corporate perspective, the Navy has taken steps to ensure it remains in the forefront of renewable energy and water conservation. According to Navy Region Southwest (NRSW) Energy Resource Efficiency Manager Fred Speece, the Southwest Region has been a leader in the Navy for completing such renewable energy projects.
One such project is the photovoltaic systems that have been installed on several bases throughout the region. The system consists of roof-top paneling or solar panels, that take direct-current electricity, produced through the sun and coverts it to alternating current.
"We're taking sun energy [after it goes through the panel] and converting it into direct-current electricity. In this case 57.7 kilowatts, is inverted to alternating currents which is then fed directly into the Navy's grid, through a transformer," Speece said.
"Right now, the sun is producing 24.8 kilowatts of energy, and over time it will be kilowatt hours produced," he added as he reviewed the information display on a converter unit.
Everywhere the Navy has photovoltaic systems, there are inverters to convert direct current energy to alternate current.
"Photovoltaic carports is an easy one for [the Navy], because we have a lot of parking areas and the ability to build these in various sites. We have some along the pier side, helping reduce energy used by the ship. We have [them at] long-term and short-term parking. We are also looking at installing roof-top photovoltaic in a thin film [version] that is glued to the roof or panels on top of that.
These photovoltaic systems can be placed on any flat roof tops, and can vary in size from square feet to acreage. According to Speece, this system helps to reduce the Navy's dependency on grid-generate energy that may be produced hundreds of miles away.
Another energy project that the Navy has been managing for some time is water conservation. For NRSW, this is even more of a concern in the San Diego metropolitan area.
"For the Southwest Region, that is even more important because of the finite amount of water available in the SD area," Speece said. "And because of this, the Navy has completed several projects to help reduce the total amount of water consumed on a daily basis."
Some of these projects have come in the form low-water urinals, toilets, and shower heads that are meeting or exceeding the Navy's goal for water consumption per gallon, he said.
"The other thing [the Navy] has done is looked at amount of water that is going into irrigation and landscaping and has come up with various initiatives, such as smart landscapes." Speece said.
Anytime new buildings are constructed, low-water landscaping, rocks, artificial turf or limited planting materials are added.
"They have recognized we have all these opportunities to pick an area, reduce the water through artificial landscaping and/or artificial turf and rocks to reduce our dependency on water that is a finite commodity in the San Diego area."
NRSW has also has taken a massive irrigation system that was piece-milled over time, and installed one master, irrigation control system. "This system can be managed throughout the region from one or various desktops. [It also collects] weather conditions, heat load [which helps to] save water," Speece said.
If for some chance there is a broken pipe within the network, the system recognizes that and automatically shuts down.
"From a water prospective, the Southwest Region has done a fabulous job in reducing our dependency on water in San Diego, and meeting and exceeding the Navy's goals."
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