TVA
Works to Help Make Air Force Base More Energy-Efficient
March
11,
2003
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. — Continuing a 52-year partnership, TVA
and Arnold Engineering Development Center are undertaking projects
that will help AEDC use energy more efficiently and save money on
power costs.
As
the world’s largest flight simulation test facility and one
of two jet engine test facilities in the world, AEDC has tested virtually
every high performance aerospace system that the Department of Defense
has developed since the mid-1950s. AEDC is also one of TVA’s
largest directly served customers, using the same amount of electricity
as about
23,000 homes in the Tennessee Valley.
“We
recognize that when we help our customers meet their bottom line, everyone
benefits—the customer, TVA, and the Valley economy,” said
TVA Director Bill Baxter.
As
a part of a lighting retrofit project, TVA energy services employees
installed new, efficient lighting in more than 214 buildings
on the base. The project resulted in a savings of about $195,000 in
FY 2002
to AEDC.
TVA
energy services personnel also worked with AEDC to install a new steam-distribution
system to help reduce the loss of steam between
boilers and the facilities where jet engines are tested. The
shallow trench system
reduces the steam distribution losses by more than 15 percent,
which in turn reduces natural gas costs by $700,000 to $800,000
per year.
This
month TVA also installed an aboveground distribution system. The project
will result in a much more efficient way
to distribute
steam
to the test facility.
“By
saving AEDC money, TVA is helping us reinvest our money where it counts,” said
Colonel David J. Eichhorn, commander of the Air Force Materiel
Command’s
Arnold Engineering Development Center. “That means more money
for testing, which helps improve our U.S. military forces, making
them stronger
and more effective
to fight the war on terrorism.”
In
October, AEDC signed a new 10-year power contract with TVA that provides
incentives to operate in off-peak times. The new
pricing
option gives large
power customers an opportunity to schedule production, which
can effectively lower
the average cost of power while benefiting the TVA system by
shifting loads off TVA’s peak periods.
“AEDC
needed a contract tailored to meet its operations,” Baxter
said. “We are committed to working with all of our customers
to help them meet their needs. To be a player in a competitive
marketplace, we recognized
that we need to earn our customers’ business.”
TVA
is the nation’s largest public power producer, and is self-financed.
TVA provides power to large industries and 158 power distributors that
serve 8.3 million consumers in seven southeastern states.
Media Contact:
Lucha
Ramey, Knoxville (865-632-8385) or TVA News Bureau, Knoxville (865-632-6000)
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