Solutions are sought for feasibility studies for the implementation of thermal energy networks (TENs) on military installations. DoD has identified ~10 sites representing a diversity of geologic and geographic characteristics, and building portfolios as potential subjects for the studies. Confirmed sites are located in, RI, OK, CO, CA, and OR, with additional sites under consideration in the Mid-Atlantic Region, Alaska and overseas. Proposals should be developed for studies of a single site and should consider the following objectives: 

• Provide a high-level feasibility analysis and comparison of alternatives for a “full-scale” (20+ buildings) TEN, utilizing available data, information collected from a site walk-through and design rules of thumb. Design concepts should consider enabling the incremental buildout of the TEN over time.
• Provide a detailed engineering analysis of a subset (2-5 buildings) of the subject buildings that offer the most economically promising opportunity for developing a TEN. Analysis should include detailed building thermal load profiles, building level retrofit analysis, network energy flow analysis and total system cost estimates.
• Evaluate network architecture options, to include a single, non-insulated pipe buried in the ground that operates near ambient temperature, serving building space heating, cooling, and domestic hot water loads. These systems are sometimes called Reservoir Networks (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.117418). Other ambient loop configurations may be considered.
• Options to utilize waste heat, such as from a data center, wastewater or other thermal sources that may be identified.
• Facilitate collaboration with industry, utilities, national labs, and academia to combine expertise in design, engineering, construction, finance, and system operations to develop viable solutions to improve DoD building performance and energy system resilience. 

 Demonstration sites will be able to provide building and infrastructure data including, GIS, electric meter data, HVAC and mechanical as-builts or nameplate data, and utility rates. It should be assumed that building-level natural gas consumption data will not be available for most buildings. 

Projects that show technical and economic viability may be invited to submit proposals for Phase 2 demonstrations. 

Proposal Instructions: 

The proposal instructions provided on the ESTCP website are written for demonstration projects that include the installation and testing of physical systems or components. For proposals submitted under this topic, please interpret the instructions with the following guidance. Items not listed below should be interpreted as-read in the Proposal Instructions document and with the general guidance that the term “technology” applies to the analysis approach used for the thermal energy network feasibility studies. 

 Section 2.1 Abstract: 

• Item 6, Technology Description: Describe the approach and tools used to conduct the analysis and system design that meets the technical objectives described in the solicitation topic. 

 Section 2.2 Technical Section 

• Item 4, DoD Installation Point of Contact: Not Applicable
• Item 6-c, Technology Maturity: Describe the maturity of the analytical tools to be used in the study and how they have been applied to similar analyses.
• Item 6-d, Technical Approach: Describe the approach for designing and modeling the system’s cost and performance. Include discussion of key factors that inform the high-level analysis of the full-scale system and how those results inform the detailed analysis of the small-scale system. Include a discussion of relevant site and/or general location characteristics that would influence the selection of one site, or region, over another. If the proposal includes teaming, explain how each team member contributes to the project and how this effort expands the capability of DoD contractors to effectively design TENs.
• Item 9, Technology Stage: Not Applicable
• Item 10, Technology Transfer Plan: This section should include a discussion of the challenges of designing, implementing, and operating thermal energy networks on military installations and an explanation of how this project will help address these challenges. Refer to the numbered items in this section for examples of specific activities that may be applicable to this project.
• Item 11, Disposition of Equipment: Not Applicable 

Successful project outcomes will provide a robust feasibility assessment of the potential to implement TENs at military sites operating under diverse climatic conditions and provide a realistic pathway for improving installation energy resilience and security. Additionally, these projects will facilitate strategic partnering to implement and scale solutions faster.

ESTCP’s Installation Energy and Water (EW) program area supports the demonstration and deployment of innovative technologies that enhance energy security, improve water efficiency, and strengthen mission resilience across DoD installations. This program prioritizes cost-effective, scalable, and cyber-secure solutions that reduce operational costs while ensuring the reliability of energy and water systems critical to national defense. 

There are many new technologies and systems that can help DoD meet this challenge. One such opportunity is modern thermal energy networks (TEN), which leverage advances in several technologies to improve system-level efficiencies, reduce operating costs and improved energy resilience. 

A thermal energy network is essentially a system of distributed water-source heat pumps, interconnected via a network of ambient temperature water distributed via common pipes and pumps, that provides heating and cooling services to multiple buildings year-round.  A TEN system utilizes the stable temperature of the earth, waste heat or other thermal resources which can augmented by traditional heating or cooling systems if required, a common thermal distribution loop operating at ambient temperatures (60 ^o-70 ^oF) and utilizes distributed building-level heat pumps to meet the specific heating or cooling demands of each building. 

Keith Welch 

Program Manager for Installation Energy and Water  

Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP)  

Phone: 202-657-8954 

E-Mail: keith.a.welch3.civ@mail.mil