New Release: Lessons Learned for Retrofitting Existing Solar With Emerging Technologies [RESET]
Lessons Learned for Retrofitting Existing Solar With Emerging Technologies [RESET]
The Retrofitting Existing Solar With Emerging Technologies [RESET] project, sponsored by DoD’s ESTCP, explores how DoD can utilize its existing renewable energy assets to support its ambitious energy resilience goals. The project specifically investigates the financial, contractual, engineering, and cyber considerations related to energy resilience retrofits to include energy storage capabilities through the following reports:
Considerations For Retrofitting Existing Solar With Emerging Technologies [RESET]
Lessons Learned for Retrofitting Existing Solar With Emerging Technologies [RESET]
The Big Picture. Over the past decade, the Department of Defense (DoD) has acquired a large fleet of power plants located on, or nearby, its military installations. These power plants include more than 2,000 renewable energy projects that generated 3,700 GWh in 2020 in response to Congressional legislation and Executive Orders.
The Opportunity. DoD has not realized the potential of its existing renewable energy plants as a significant energy resilience resource because DoD, and the federal government more broadly, lacks the policies and processes for improving the energy resilience of existing renewable energy assets.
The report “Lessons Learned From Retrofitting Existing Solar With Emerging Technologies [RESET]” synthesizes feedback from more than 40 energy resilience practitioners from across DoD and the private sector, as well as a series of energy resilience retrofit feasibility studies for a solar PV system at Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB) into key 6 lessons learned that:
Describe steps that DoD policymakers and energy leadership should take to create an energy resilience resource that meets legislative clean energy mandates and Presidential Executive Orders (Exec. Order No. 13834, 2018; Exec. Order No. 14008, 2021).
Adopt a staged approach for DoD to consider how a resilience retrofit initiative would move from the enterprise-level to the military services to the hundreds of installations located across the United States.
Build from the guiding questions captured in the below report, Considerations for Retrofitting Existing Solar with Emerging Technologies, which contains specific recommendations for evaluating energy resilience retrofits on or near DoD installations.
For more information on RESET visit, Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) website.
Why It Matters: Despite the wide deployment of renewable energy projects, DoD continues to rely overwhelmingly on backup diesel generators to provide energy resilience, as “much of the existing deployed solar PV on DoD installations is installed without islanding capability, preventing use as a true resilience solution” (ASD(S), 2020a). DoD’s fleet of existing renewable energy plants represents a significant, but largely untapped, energy resilience resource.
The report, Considerations for Retrofitting Existing Solar With Emerging Technologies [RESET], summarizes the key questions that project proponents could ask when evaluating solar PV sites for resilience retrofit feasibility. The questions contained in this report are intended to support initial site screening by energy personnel at installations, as well as by staff within the DoD energy program offices, engineering centers, and acquisition agencies. The report is organized into five sections with additional appendices:
Section 1: DoD Energy Policy and Organizational Roles
Section 2: Funding and Financing Considerations
Section 3: Contracting and Legal Considerations
Section 4: Engineering Considerations
Section 5: Cybersecurity Considerations
Appendix A: Risk Management Framework (RMF)
Appendix B: Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC)
About Department of Defense, Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP)
ESTCP is DoD’s environmental technology demonstration and validation program. The Program was established in 1995 to promote the transfer of innovative technologies that have successfully established proof of concept to field or production use. ESTCP demonstrations collect cost and performance data to overcome the barriers to employ an innovative technology because of concerns regarding technical or programmatic risk, the so-called “Valley of Death.” To learn more about ESTCP, please visit: www.serdp-estcp.org.
About Converge Strategies, LLC
Converge Strategies, LLC is a consulting company focused on the intersection of clean energy, resilience, and national security. We build partnerships with the military, civilians, and all levels of government to accelerate resilience and security in the clean energy transformation.
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