Over a decade ago, the Department of Defense (DoD) recognized its place as the nation’s largest energy user, as well as the need to improve energy efficiency, avoid overtaxing the grid, and shift to renewable energy as a means of offsetting negative environmental effects, while meeting operational and installation needs. The military services began by finding ways to make buildings, infrastructure, and utilities more efficient. Around 2013-14, the DoD adopted the Net Zero concept to reduce consumption by installing renewable energy sources. In 2017, the Department of the Army expanded this goal to include Mission Resilience. In 2010, Fort Hunter Liggett (FHL) near King City, California was chosen by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, and Environment as one of the nine pilot installations for the Net Zero Initiative. In 2017, SEA was contracted by FHL to provide Resource Efficiency Management (REM) services. With the focus on resilience, SEA REMs helped FHL conduct a groundbreaking ceremony in 2021, initiating the build of a $21.6 million electrical microgrid. This project aims to make FHL the first Army installation capable of achieving Net Zero for mission-critical operations, ensuring 14 days of energy resilience. This is a crucial step towards energy self-sufficiency across the DoD. A microgrid is a self-contained electrical distribution system that can operate independently from the utility grid. FHL has been preparing for this resilience project for several years. Initial steps included upgrading and burying the medium voltage distribution system in the cantonment area. This set the stage for expanding the solar array at the Equipment Concentration Site and adding photovoltaic generation at the O&M yard. The generated power would be stored in batteries, allowing daytime electricity to be used at night. The entire microgrid system would be managed by an automated Supervisor Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, which can respond to grid changes in as little as 1/30th of a second. The microgrid has successfully helped FHL achieve its Net Zero goals.  Despite being an Army Reserve installation, FHL supports significant activities from the Army, Navy, and Special Warfare Groups essential for training initiatives.  If successful, FHL would serve as a model for other installation resilience efforts within the Department of the Army.  This innovative, fully integrated microgrid system will ultimately provide contingency electric power during power outages and persistent grid instability. Once operational, the system will generate more electricity than FHL can consume annually, achieving the Army and DoD’s electrical Net Zero goal. Although FHL will not fully disconnect from the power grid, it will have the capacity to export excess electricity in summer and import it in winter, balancing out to Net Zero. Despite including battery energy storage in the contract, FHL will generate more electricity during the day than it can use or store. The SCADA system will manage this by curtailing solar array output to avoid overloading the grid. FHL is an ideal pilot site for the Net Zero microgrid project, due to its size and scalability. Over the course of the project, SEA’s REM has identified challenges and improvements to establish best practices for other installations. Larger military bases worldwide can model their resilience efforts on FHL’s pilot work, mitigating risks and accelerating implementation based on lessons learned. The initiation of any microgrid project is the culmination of over a decade of projects, development, and planning. It requires forward-thinking to generate DoD-wide projects at the grassroots level, representing a significant achievement. FHL has developed one of the most advanced energy programs, largely due to exceptional technical and budgetary support from the Army Reserve Installation Management Directorate, Sustainment and Resiliency Division. SEA is honored to participate in this energy program and landmark pilot project, setting the stage for future resilience efforts across the DoD.

ABOUT THE FACILITY: The Rane Culinary Science Center is a transformative complex that provides students of hospitality and culinary sciences with a hands-on learning experience to develop commercial hospitality industry skills within an innovative, cutting-edge facility. With SEA’s expertise in Alabama commissioning services, the center ensures optimal functionality and performance. The multi-use facility includes: Luxury boutique hotel with 10 suites, 16 single-room units, and 6 private residences for long-term leasing Spa and rooftop garden 40-seat teaching restaurant for culinary science instructors 9,000 SQ FT food hall with numerous vendors Operational coffee roaster and food/beverage media studio Distilled spirits center with micro-distillery & tasting room 80-student culinary exhibition lab with atrium-style seating and non-conventional cooking stations, which require very complex systems with sophisticated operability. SCOPE OF WORK: SEA was the commissioning authority, ensuring the facility fulfilled the functional and performance requirements for the building owner and occupants. To reach this goal, the commissioning process established and documented Auburn’s criteria for system functions and performance, and verified compliance with criteria throughout the design, construction, and initial period of operation. Additionally, complete O&M manuals along with training on system operations were provided. SEA, known for its Alabama commissioning services, was involved in all phases of the project for Cx of these systems: Building automation system to include any temperature and humidity monitoring, alarming to specific critical areas (freezers, coolers, etc.) All equipment of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems, including kitchen exhaust/makeup systems Scheduled, occupancy sensor, and daylight dimming lighting controls Secondary electrical distribution system Domestic water heating systems and distribution piping Domestic and process water pumping and mixing systems CHALLENGES / IMPACT / RECOGNITION: Delays in construction caused commissioning to occur after occupancy. SEA was able to discreetly execute a successful commissioning process, working around the classroom schedule, kitchens, and distillery labs; and the occupancy schedules of the private luxury suites and spa. Exquisite cleanliness and discretion were paramount to avoid disturbance of the clientele. Additionally, it’s worth noting that the Rane Culinary Science Center is LEED® certified, reflecting its commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility.

SEA Partners with Largest State Employer, Airbus for Commissioning Services SEA has provided commissioning services to five buildings covering more than 472k square feet, and continues to be a part of the expansion process as new buildings are requested for additional commissioning services. Airbus Americas, Inc. is expanding its production facility for its Commercial Airplanes division in Mobile, Alabama. The site is the major assembly and delivery site for Airbus commercial aircraft in the United States, and is one of the larger employment centers in the state. Recent construction includes two dual-bay support hangars, expansion to the existing delivery center, a canteen, and ancillary buildings to support the final phase operations of Airbus’ Single Aisle series type aircraft. At A Glance 5 Buildings Commissioned to Date 472k Square Feet of Commissioned Space Each project has been executed in a Design-Build process. The hangars and ancillary buildings will meet, at minimum LEED certified standards. The delivery center will meet LEED Silver standards. As the LEED Commissioning Provider (CxP), SEA provided all necessary services in conjunction with the LEED Fundamental Commissioning prerequisite and Enhanced Commissioning credit. This includes: Reviewing the owner’s project requirements Verifying the basis of design Developing and executing the commissioning plan through the design, construction occupancy and operational phases Performing reviews in stride with the design-build phases Evaluating proposed equipment sequences of operation Developing pre-functional checklists in coordination with the project manager and design-build contractor Developing, executing and documenting functional tests of installed equipment Producing and submitting all documentation required for the LEED Fundamental Commissioning prerequisite and Enhanced Commissioning Credit Systems commissioned, include: Building Envelope Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Electrical (Medium, Low Voltage and Lighting) Domestic Service Hot Water (DHW) Download Project Profile

Energy Resilience Planning Fort Knox’s Energy Program Achieves Resilience Toward Independence For 60 years, Fort Knox located in Kentucky was the home of the U.S. Army Armor Center and was used by the Army and Marine Corps to train crews on the American tanks of the day. Today, new facilities have been under construction, including its largest project to date, the new Army Human Resource Center. This $185M, three-story, 880k sq. ft. complex consists of six interconnected buildings sitting on 104 acres. The new center employs 4,300 soldiers and civilians. AT A GLANCE Fort Knox Facts 880k Square Feet 14 Days Off-Grid Achieved 10M Annual Savings 6 Buildings Achieving Resilience  SEA provides the Army with ongoing energy services and REM support at 17 Army and Army Reserve facilities, including Fort Knox. Assisting clients in planning for secure access to energy and water resources is crucial to preserve choices in a rapidly changing world. SEA’s REM assisted the Fort Knox Energy Team in the successful testing of a multi-million dollar backup power system to plan and be prepared for a more self-sustaining, resilient base. The $62 million program allows the total installation to operate off-grid without the help of outside utility providers. The program will save about $10 million a year and can provide necessary water and energy for mission critical facilities for up to 14 days. Fresh off a streak of awards that has put Fort Knox in an envious position across the U.S. Army, officials of the Directorate of Public Works say they have no plans to slow down. With resilience as their focal point, Fort Knox is positioning to take the next few steps necessary for complete and endless energy independence if faced with disaster. Next Steps The Energy Program has divided its efforts into three strategies: electric, gas and water. Water is a more long-range focus even though water consumption has already been reduced by 70% just by fixing leaks. Right now, the team is focused on making electric and gas energies more efficient and effective. Because gas is used to generate the electricity, the overall gas consumption has flattened particularly because of the climate in Kentucky. The focus now is to determine how to buy gas at its cheapest cost and store it onsite to have the ability to eliminate higher costs during intermediate and peak hours of use.  The need to be compliant with the U.S. Army’s directive for energy resilience is no longer a concern for the installation because the Army goal to remain energy independent for up to 14 straight days has been achieved and even exceeded. Instead, they are looking to shape the future of energy resilience throughout the Department of Defense with the help of SEA’s REM. Download Project Profile