The objective of this project is to perform a feasibility study for designing and installing a thermal energy network (TEN) at a Department of Defense (DoD) installation with unbalanced heating and cooling loads. This will provide Energy Managers with the assurance and information needed to pursue full implementation at the installation to decrease energy costs and increase energy independence.

This project will use currently available modeling tools to perform a feasibility analysis and initial building heating and cooling and network design for a location with unbalanced heating and cooling load through collaboration between the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory Alaska Campus. Detailed analysis will be shown for a subset of buildings (2-5 buildings) while a high-level analysis including various alternative energy solutions will be shown for a large network (20+ buildings). The network will use a circulation of medium temperature fluid to meet building heating and cooling loads across the installation simultaneously, with careful consideration given to unbalanced thermal loads and higher peak demands, such as those experienced at installations in heating-dominated cold-regions. Waste heat sources, such as excess steam from on-base electricity plants or wastewater, will be incorporated for overall thermal efficiency.

A feasibility study is the necessary first step to achieve implementation of TEN technology at a military installation. An operational and efficient TEN will enhance energy security, decrease energy costs, strengthen energy resilience, and ensure critical mission sustainment across any DoD installation. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2028)