Additional funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is also available to further expand the AFFECT grant program.
On December 2, 2022, the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) issued a Federal Agency Call (FAC) on EERE Exchange titled Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) 2022 Appropriations. On August 23, 2023, FEMP announced the selection of the following 19 federal agency projects to receive a combined total of $28.1 million in AFFECT funding.
These grants will support various initiatives such as energy-efficiency measures, renewable energy installations, load management strategies, and resilience improvements. By implementing these projects, federal agencies aim to achieve their missions more efficiently and generate economic benefits by attracting private investment, creating jobs, and adopting American-made technologies.
These efforts align with FEMP's commitment to the Biden Administration's energy reduction and sustainability goals, enabling the federal government to lead by example in energy efficiency and clean energy adoption. The selected projects are expected to:
- Reduce the federal government's annual energy costs by $22.7 million
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 82,648 MTCO2e
- Include $837 million in private financing.
2022 Selected Projects
Naval Support Activity (NSA) Mid-South
Millington, Tennessee
This project will expand solar photovoltaics (PV) and battery energy storage system (BESS) energy conservation measures (ECMs) from 4 MW to 6 MW and from 1.5 MW to 3 MW, alongside adding a microgrid control system and enhancing critical load support across multiple facilities. The overall project scope includes lighting, HVAC, energy distribution upgrades, and more. This expansion will enhance resilience, adding a second building and potential development for five more critical facilities in the future. It is projected to displace 12% of site grid-supplied electricity, with a 16.9-year payback. Electricity savings are anticipated to rise to 15,548,223 kWh (34.1%) and energy cost savings to $2.607 million (44.2%). The project will generate $300,000 in annual operations and maintenance (O&M) savings. It will also decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 14,111 metric tons CO2e (35.5%). The project offers replicable benefits for other federal sites.
Department of Veteran Affairs (VA)
Salt Lake City, Utah
This project will enhance a $12.5 million energy savings performance contract (ESPC) by adding key ECMs: a 742-kW solar PV array, expanding a BESS from 0.75 MW to 1.5 MW/3 MWh, and adding a microgrid control system, enhancing resilience during outages and enhancing lighting, HVAC, controls, water efficiency, meters, and power distribution. The project will leverage the larger BESS and microgrid control system, providing support to all building operations and enabling islanding. The project boosts electricity savings to 4,778,299 kWh (34.6%) and energy cost savings to $1,031,262 (38%). Utility rebates of $150,000 and emission savings of 10,923 mtCO2e (36.8%) highlight the project's value. Lessons will be shared among the VA and energy service companies (ESCOs).
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Southwest Fisheries Science Center
La Jolla, California
This project will enhance energy resilience at a site hosting seawater laboratories and fish hatcheries. It involves upgrading the solar PV ECM by 100 kW, including a 500-kW BESS, ice-based thermal energy storage system, and a microgrid control system. The site's energy-intensive operations demand significant power for conditioning, filtration, and heating/cooling. The project will provide crucial resilience during power outages, increasing electricity savings to 21% and energy cost savings to 19%. O&M savings and incentives from the state, utility, and federal tax credits will support the project and GHG emissions will decrease by 19%. Additionally, the project offers replicable benefits for other fisheries sites.
Office of Personnel Management Headquarters Data Center Efficiency and Resiliency
Washington, D.C.
This project will modify an existing ESPC contract to upgrade a data center comprehensively, achieving load management, solar PV replacement, cooling tower upgrades, retro-commissioning, and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) installation. The project will expand planned investment and energy/cost savings by 400% and 600% respectively, maintaining two critical ECMs that risked elimination due to increased costs and interest rates. The first enhancement involves data center load management, adding hot aisle containment, air-cooled computer room air conditioners with variable speed operation, and energy recovery ventilators. The second improvement bolsters resilience by addressing vulnerabilities identified with FEMP's Technical Resilience Navigator, including water-cooled infrastructure removal and generator upgrades. The project will produce $6 million in O&M savings, seek utility incentives, and employ solar renewable energy certificates. It will serve as a replicable model for federal data center projects.
General Services Administration (GSA), National Capital Region White Oak
Silver Spring, Maryland
This project will take place at a site involving earlier ESPC work on utility plants and a microgrid control system powering the Food and Drug Administration's headquarters, laboratories, and the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Complex. It will create resilience through a 5-MW solar PV and 6-MW BESS, reducing energy inefficiencies and integrating 22 additional fast-payback ECMs for energy savings. The project predicts electricity savings of 6.2%, natural gas savings of 8%, and energy cost savings of 26.5%, alongside anticipated annual O&M savings of $100,000. The expected annual GHG reductions are 22%. Project replication will be facilitated via GSA's Green Proving Ground, demonstrating the model's viability for other sites.
U.S. Air Force, Robins Air Force Base
Georgia
This project will add a BESS to a utility energy service contract (UESC) with a 25-year payback. The BESS will safeguard critical electronics testing against power outages and offer savings through utility real-time pricing. It will also enable mission-critical facility enhancements, encompassing lighting, chiller and boiler plant improvements, an energy management control system, transformers, water efficiency upgrades, and bi-directional electric vehicle (EV) chargers. This will elevate electricity demand reduction and energy cost savings. Replication plans and potential inclusion of more square footage in a future UESC are underway.
Directorate of Public Works, U.S. Army Fort Knox
Kentucky
This project will introduce two resilience ECMs: 800-kW natural gas fuel cells and a 1,750-kWh BESS. This will enhance baseload generation, storage, backup power, and energy demand management and displace natural gas and electricity from utilities, wells, and on-site sources. The expansion will lead to electricity savings growing to 9% and energy cost savings to 11%. Expected GHG emission reductions will rise to 5.25%. Replication efforts will involve case studies and government use case sharing and will promote small, local disadvantaged business involvement.
Navy Air Weapons Station China Lake
Ridgecrest, California
This project will help deploy solar PV, BESS, and nano-grid ECMs for two remote water well pumps. Sized for net-zero power during normal operations, these ECMs will enable reduced demand, load-shifting, and surplus power sales to the grid. The ECMs will ensure one day of pumping without diesel generators in the event of a power outage. These ECMs will be incorporated into a larger UESC that covers various energy efficiency measures, and execution will involve Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and coordination with Southern California Edison. The project aims to enhance electricity savings to 57% and energy cost savings to 48%. GHG emission reductions will increase to 46%. Replication plans involve documenting best practices, lessons learned, and dissemination through webinars, white papers, and conferences.
U.S. Army Garrison
Ansbach, Germany
This project will enhance an existing ESPC by reinstating World War II-era facilities that were initially dropped due to financial constraints. The reintegration of these facilities will more than double the planned solar PV deployment from 234 kW to 568 kW. This augmentation will result in an annual energy savings boost of 294,000 kWh and $60,000. Additionally, a hangar bay lighting ECM will be reintroduced to the ESPC, increasing energy savings by another 115,000 kWh and $25,000 per year. By significantly increasing on-site renewable energy and reducing hangar lighting needs, the project will align with carbon-free, net-zero objectives and ensure readiness for future technological advancements in building and vehicle electrification.
Department of State
Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Durban, South Africa
This project will implement solar PV and BESS across 165 U.S. government-owned residences in South Africa, with a 7-year simple payback period. This initiative aims to replace coal generation and diesel fuel usage during rolling blackouts caused by South Africa's energy crisis. The project addresses security concerns by circumventing the use of diesel generators banned at certain times, effectively enhancing security for personnel. The project will significantly amplify annual electricity savings, providing 100% of the electricity required. The project's replication strategy involves sharing lessons learned with the Department of State, U.S. government-owned residences in the Caribbean, other island nations, and regions heavily reliant on diesel-generated power, further illustrating a commitment to global clean energy leadership.
Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Golden, Colorado
This project will provide a hydrogen fuel cell and expand ECMs to enhance resilience, decarbonization, and Smart Labs upgrades. These ECMs provide carbon-free backup and enable microgrid control system expansion, interconnecting additional buildings, solar PV, EV chargers, and a larger battery, multiplying savings by 20 and reinforcing energy security. The project's simple payback ranges from 14.2 to 17.8 years, increasing electricity savings to 4,554,855 kWh (10.8%) and energy cost savings to $722,803 (16.7%). The project anticipates tax credits and utility incentives. Replicability will be promoted through publication, a government use case, and scalability plans.
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
College Park, Maryland
This project will facilitate NARA's transition to all-electronic records through an ESPC and enable a solar PV carport and EVSE ECMs, providing backup power to servers hosting electronic files. The project anticipates tax credit benefits, utility incentives, and solar renewable energy credits while increasing electricity savings to 30% and energy cost savings to 37%. GHG emissions reduction total of 44.2%, and replication is planned across NARA's 17 facilities, including the President John F. Kennedy Library. NARA will standardize chiller heat recovery control and consider solar PV for other locations.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) White Sands Test Facility
Las Cruces, New Mexico
This project will provide a 2-MW BESS and a dynamic output control system in a larger solar PV project. The project will aim for mission assurance, energy security, efficiency, and resilience with ECMs enabling load shifting, peak shaving, cost savings, and emergency potable water power. Enhanced safety features will also align with future code requirements. The dynamic control system will set the foundation for future load management and utility cost reduction. The project yields a 5.6-year simple payback, electricity usage savings increased to 240,000 kWh (2.2%), and energy cost savings increased to $125,000 (12%). GHG emissions reduce by an estimated 2,268 mtCO2e (20%). NASA plans to replicate lessons learned to inform similar projects and share results with other federal agencies.
Naval Air Facility
El Centro, California
This project will encompass 21 energy efficiency and resilience ECMs, such as lighting, chillers, energy management systems, and 1-MW solar PV. These ECMs are at risk of being excluded due to long payback periods. The project's electricity savings will rise from to 17%, while energy cost savings significantly increase to 70%. The project is expected to reduce GHG emissions by 70%, contributing to an 84% reduction for the entire UESC project.
Marine Corps Installation Pacific
Okinawa, Japan
This project supports a BESS ECM with a 60-year simple payback, complementing a 1.68-MW solar PV and microgrid control system already part of a 22-year ESPC project, collectively ensuring energy resilience and security for critical facilities for up to 14 days. Due to its overseas site, great importance is placed on energy resilience and the ability to enable immediate threat response and uninterrupted critical functions with minimal reliance on external energy sources. This project will address these needs by reducing energy demand and facilitating disconnection from the grid. The project will elevate electricity demand reduction to 609 kW and enhance energy cost savings to $453,181 (13.1%). The BESS will lead to savings under utility time-of-use rates and reduced demand charges through peak shaving. The project will contribute a moderate 30,454 mtCO2e or 15.2% reduction in GHG. Its replicability will showcase the benefits of combined resilience ECMs in future Department of Defense projects.
U.S. Army Garrison
Natick, Massachusetts
This project will enhance resilience by deploying solar PV, a BESS, reciprocating engines, and a microgrid control system to ensure grid-independent operation during outages. The project's energy and cost savings will increase to 92% and 56%, respectively. The estimated 7% reduction in GHG emissions linked to the resilience ECMs will enable the garrison to achieve renewable energy goals through on-site generation, instead of relying on renewable energy certificates.
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
New Jersey
This project will reinstate a microgrid control system for the Lakehurst site and involves various energy efficiency and renewable elements such as solar PV, BESS, power distribution upgrades, HVAC, direct digital controls, and lighting. The project is crucial for mission assurance, resiliency, and security by enabling islanding capabilities. The project estimates significant energy savings, with 42,280,058 kWh (89%) and 53,051 BTU (17%) reduction in electricity and natural gas consumption respectively, and energy cost savings of $4,321,129. Additionally, the project expects to decrease GHG emissions by 41,000 tons CO2 (38%).
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Redstone Arsenal, Alabama
This project proposes the addition of a 250-kW solar PV ECM to an existing UESC with the Tennessee Valley Authority. The project aims for $10 million in energy cost savings over its lifetime, with a 15.6-year payback. The project will increase energy savings to 10.9% for electricity and to 12.3% for energy cost savings. GHG emissions will decrease by 1.1% incrementally, achieving a total reduction of 13.7%. The project also provides rooftop area estimates at the site and at Department of Justice facilities, indicating potential for similar solar PV implementation.
U.S. Army Garrison
Fort Sill, Oklahoma
This project will aim to capture and reuse biogas through a 100-kW micro-turbine for electricity generation, reducing flaring and natural gas boiler use. Adding biogas capture to the current UESC with lighting and building controls will have a 12- or 13-year payback. Savings will increase to 10.7% for electricity, 1.4% for gas, and 15.4% for costs. The project is set to reduce GHG emissions to 7.0%. The project improves energy efficiency and environmental impact by harnessing biogas for electricity and heat while supporting the existing portfolio of projects.