Delaware officials unveiled a plan Friday designed to reduce energy costs at National Guard facilities around the state.
The 20-year plan, called a Guaranteed Energy Savings Agreement, is expected to cut fossil fuel consumption at the facilities by 38 percent and save the Delaware National Guard $6 million in energy costs over 20 years. It was implemented by engineering firm Siemens and funded through a loan from the Energize Delaware’s Revolving Loan Fund program. The aim is to bring energy efficiency upgrades to 11 National Guard facilities, which will ultimately reduce net energy requirements.
Tony DePrima is the executive director of the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility. He said this will help the National Guard transition to independent power sources.
“By reducing their electric loads or efficiency and then putting in solar power, they become a more resilient organization, which means they’re not dependent on the grid or as dependent on the grid for power, so I think that’s very much important to them,” DePrima said.
DePrima said the upgrade at the National Guard is part of a wider statewide initiative to reduce energy use. It is a joint effort between the National Guard and the DESEU that will use sources of renewable energy, modernize infrastructure, create more jobs and create new sources of revenue with no costs to taxpayers.