ARLINGTON, Va. - The Army National Guard continues to make reductions in energy usage and waste production and may soon have the first installation throughout the Army to be certified as a triple net zero installation, or one whose energy use, water use and waste production is effectively zero through recycling and renewable and green resources.
"We're on track, in my mind, to get to triple net zero at Camp Grayling, Michigan, within two years," said Army Brig. Gen. Michael Stone, the assistant adjutant general for installations with the Michigan National Guard. "We're not at the finish line yet, but we're very close on triple net zero for Grayling."
Camp Grayling has also been net zero for water usage for close to 25 years, said Stone.
"Because of its aquifer, our engineers figured out back in the '90s how to create a water system and a waste water system that is sustainable," he said. "So, since the mid 1990's Camp Grayling has been a net zero (for water) installation."
That put Camp Grayling a step ahead toward the goal of becoming a triple net zero installation.
" One of the things I didn't realize when we started our journey (to triple net zero) was that there are no other Army installations that are net zero for water, so we already had one of the three nailed."
And the effects of having that water system in place can be seen in the quality of water on the installation, said Stone, adding that Camp Grayling has been in operation for more than 100 years.
"There are 11,000 lakes in Michigan and the state Department of Natural Resources does water quality testing and Lake Margrethe (located on Camp Grayling) was rated as one of the ten cleanest lakes in the state of Michigan. So, that's great that we've been operating for more than a hundred years on a water source and aquifer and have it rated so highly."
Moving toward becoming net zero in energy and waste is the next goal, said Stone, adding that small changes have been made that add up to large-scale trade-offs in efficiency, such as simply adding dedicated recycling bins around Camp Grayling.
"We didn't have any recycling bins at Camp Grayling until two year ago," said Stone, noting that the installation was still recycling, just that its sorting procedures needed adjustment.
"We have an employee who runs the recycling center who was manually helping to sort things," he said. "If you do that at the point of source, you'd be surprised at how much you reduce."
Stone said by increasing recycling streams by working with outside entities that specialize in recycling specific materials is another way that is moving Camp Grayling forward to further reduce waste products that would otherwise take up landfill space.
"We think we can get to a price point where nothing goes to a landfill at essentially the same cost as where we were four years ago (sending items to a landfill)," he said." But, it requires the work to think through it and know that the resource exists."
Additionally, it also means conserving fiscal resources as well, he said, adding that making the decision to implement projects required thinking "like a business" on the return on investment.
"No business in their right mind would request and do the staff work for a solar project that had a 20 or 25 year return on investment," said Stone. "If the return on investment in the renewable (technology) doesn't approach 10 (years) or less, a single digit return on investment, then we're not going to spend our time. We are not going to ask, we are not going to request funds; we're just not going to do it. Really, that saved us a huge amount of staff time over the years."
Other installations and organizations within the Army Guard have had other successes with renewable energy projects, including the Utah National Guard, which installed wind turbines at Camp Williams, Utah, in 2000 and augmented that with solar panels last year.
"We are very proud of this, and all of our green-energy projects," said Army Maj. Gen Jeff Burton, adjutant general of the Utah Guard during the unveiling of the new solar panels. "We seek to be good stewards of our precious resources and will continue as an organization to seek innovative ways to conserve and reduce our footprint."
This Utah Guard's solar project was one of 10 that were scheduled to be completed in 2014, which are estimated to save more than $10 million over the next 20 years, said Utah Guard officials, adding that the installation of the solar panels produces power equivalent to powering nearly 50 homes.
The Minnesota National Guard has taken solar power a step further and has been working with local power companies to build a solar farm at Camp Ripley, Minnesota.
Scheduled to be completed by 2016, the solar farm is designed to produce 10 megawatts of power and will be among Minnesota's largest single-site solar arrays, producing more electricity than the camp normally requires, said Minnesota Guard officials. During non-emergency operation the solar energy produced would flow into the local power grid.
In 2011, the Oregon National Guard was selected to take part in a pilot net zero program driven by the assistant secretary of the Army for installations and environment. That includes building and upgrading armories using green technology as well as working to make large scale facilities such as Camp Rilea in Warrenton, Oregon, a net zero installation.
"This is a great opportunity for the Oregon National Guard and allows us to act as an example for other National Guard (organizations) so they can understand how we are approaching these issues," said Col. Christian Rees, director of installations with the Oregon Guard at the 2011 announcement that the Oregon Guard had been selected for the program. "In an era where we are facing tightening resources this indicates the Oregon National Guard is making good, sound decisions, and we are using what few dollars we have in the best way possible."
Stone said he was then able to reach out to the Utah and Oregon Guard as a resource for planning projects at Camp Grayling.
"We figured out really quickly that Camp Williams had a wind project that had the highest kilowatt production of any renewable energy project in the Army Guard in the nation," said Stone. "We wanted to know how they got it approved. How did they go through the process?"
Stone said learning those insights helped with their own projects in Michigan, adding that there are other benefits in addition to the environmental ones with working toward becoming a net zero facility.
"If you run efficiently and you can use a self-sustaining (model) and drop that footprint cost down then it doesn't make sense for the Army to eliminate you as a resource," he said.
It comes down to reducing energy and resource usage and consumption and making it a priority, said Stone.
"If you're not applying the renewable resource and energy piece into your planning, into your strategy and discussing it with your chiefs of staff or if your leadership is not buying in, then you need to find a way to get that one or two star (general officer) to understand that energy is very important and could affect large decisions."