The Marine Corps commissioned its first wind turbine for use in clean energy generation at Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB) Barstow, Calif., March 27.
The commissioning ceremony marked the completion of a 15-month long process by Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest, in realizing the project.
The wind turbine will generate an average of more than 3,000 mega watt hours of renewable power each year and annually save about $515,000 in base costs. At peak capacity, the unit can generate enough power for 500 homes.
Standing more than 300 feet high, the three blades on the turbine are each 100 feet long and span more than 200 feet tip-to-tip. Wind at four-to-five miles an hour is required to rotate the blades and begin power generation. National Weather Service records in Las Vegas show wind averages in the MCLB Barstow area at 25-30 miles an hour.
More than 60 local, state and federal dignitaries attended the commissioning ceremony including Col. Kenneth Enzor, commanding officer, MCLB Barstow; Maj. Gen. Michael Lehnert, commanding general, Marine Corps Installations West; and Navy Capt. Joseph Campbell, commanding officer, Officer in Charge of Construction, Marine Corps Installations West.
"The Marines get how terribly reliant this nation is on energy. Many of our decisions have been driven by reliance on fossil fuels over the past century. The Marine Corps gets it. They get it in building and investing time and money in things like this renewable energy facility because what we stand for is leadership in renewable energy and environmental design," said Lehnart, the regional authority of all Marine bases in the western half of the United States.
The total cost for the project was $6.1 million, reduced to $4.6 million due to a $1.5 million alternative energy rebate from the California Public Utilities Commission.
"The true success of this project is due to the partnership, persistence and determination between NAVFAC Southwest Energy Team; Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif.; Southern California Edison; ACCO Engineered Systems of Glendale, Calif.; Brownco Construction of Anaheim, Calif.; and AAER of Bromont, Quebec, Canada," said Monica Hernandez, NAVFAC Southwest contract specialist for Special Ventures Acquisition Utilities & Energy Contracting.
The large scale wind turbine project is one of many renewable projects managed by NAVFAC around the world.
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