Defense Logistics Agency energy improvements under way Published Feb. 18, 2014 By Mike W. Ray Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- A multimillion-dollar project to install energy-efficient equipment in several Defense Logistics Agency buildings at Tinker AFB is well under way. Project blueprints indicate the project will feature replacement of steam heating systems with natural-gas heating systems (infrared heaters and high-efficiency boilers), installation of energy efficient lighting and controls, building envelope improvements by replacing weather stripping, replacement of old plumbing fixtures with modern fixtures that reduce water consumption, installation of programmable thermostats, and advanced metering equipment for electric and/or gas systems in 8 of the 15 DLA buildings. The improvements will provide all necessary mechanical heating systems to support decentralization of the central heating plant that serves Tinker AFB. The $12 million energy and water conservation contract was awarded in February 2013 and completion is projected for August 2014. "The project has an overall simple payback on investment of about six years," said Stacy Umstead, Chief, Command Affairs, DLA Distribution, New Cumberland, Pa. "This project helps DLA meet the federal mandates of the Energy and Independence Security Act and Executive Order #13423 requiring energy consumption reduction in federal buildings by 3 percent per year up to 30 percent by 2015, based on an FY03 baseline," Ms. Umstead added. The DLA improvements also will make a welcome dent in Tinker's overall energy consumption record. Tinker AFB has the distinction of being the second biggest energy consumer in the U.S. Air Force. The DLA energy conservation project is a companion to an Energy Savings Performance Contract awarded in August 2012. The ESPC, the largest domestic energy retrofit project in the U.S. Air Force, is being performed through a public-private partnership involving Tinker, the U.S. Department of Energy, and Honeywell. The ESPC will remove 56 buildings from the base's steam grid and thereby reduce water consumption by almost 20 million gallons annually, will trim natural-gas usage by about 30 percent, and will reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 60 million pounds, officials reported. The ESPC improvements will help Tinker exceed the mandated 30 percent reduction in the base's energy "footprint" by 2015. The ESPC began at Tinker in 2006 as a pilot program, in the Navy's Strategic Communications Wing 1 area on the south side of the base. It began with 12 buildings and the decentralization of a small boiler plant, records reflect. The ESPC will improve energy efficiency in 70 buildings across the base, will decentralize three steam plants at Tinker and will improve a fourth. Under this ESPC, Honeywell secured a loan from a bank and is using the proceeds to make the improvements at Tinker. The federal government, in turn, will reimburse the contractor with savings from the ESPC; the agreement requires the company to prove the energy savings it claims. The $80.6 million contract will be paid off in about 23 years, analysts estimate.