On Tuesday, July 19, the U.S. Army debuted a new Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland. Dr. Kathleen Hogan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, gave remarks and helped with the ceremonial cutting of the chains to open the plant. This new CHP plant is the first of its kind on an army installation, and represents an innovative public-private partnership between the U.S. Army Materiel Command, U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Baltimore Gas and Electric, and Johnson Controls. The Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) provided technical assistance on several levels throughout the project’s development.

CHP deployment is an efficient and clean approach to generating on-site electric power and useful thermal energy from a single source. The Aberdeen Proving Ground plant is expected to save almost $25 million over the next five years and generate enough electricity to cover about half of the facility’s energy requirements. It will also meet approximately 80% of the facility’s steam needs. This energy is provided by converting waste heat into power, which increases the energy efficiency of the plant and reduces emissions. CHP systems provide enhanced energy security by offering an on-site source of energy which isn’t subject to the market cost of electricity or supply disruptions. They also diversify the energy supply by enabling integration of both fossil-based and renewable fuels.

AMO provides stakeholders like the U.S. Army with the resources necessary to identify CHP market opportunities and support implementation of CHP systems in industrial, federal, commercial, institutional, and other applications. To learn more about AMO’s CHP Deployment efforts, including CHP Technical Assistance Partnerships, click here.