Fort Irwin National Training Center integrated resource assessment. Volume 1: Executive summary

Some of the most difficult problems encountered at federal sites in reducing energy consumption in a cost-effective manner revolve around understanding where energy is being used and what technologies can be employed to decrease energy use. Many large federal sites have one or two meters to track electric energy use for several thousand buildings and numerous industrial processes. Even where meters are available on individual buildings or family housing units, the meters are not consistently read. When the federal energy manager has been able to identify high energy users, the energy manager may not have the background, training, or resources to determine the most cost-effective options for reducing this energy use. This limitation can lead to selection of suboptimal projects that prevent the site from achieving full life-cycle cost savings. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) has been tasked by the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) to identify, evaluate, and acquire all cost-effective energy projects at selected federal facilities. Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is assisting FEMP in this effort. This is part of a model program that PNL has developed to provide a systematic approach to evaluating energy opportunities. The program (1) identifies the building groups and end uses using the most energy (not just having the greatest energy-use intensity), and (2) evaluates the numerous options for retrofit or installation of new technology that will result in the selection of the most cost-effective technologies. In essence, this model program provides the federal energy manager with a road map to significantly reduce energy use in a planned, rational, cost-effective fashion that is not biased by the constraints of the typical funding sources available to federal sites