Johnson Control wins Fort Bliss solar-energy contract

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Johnson Controls Inc. has won a contract to reduce energy use and add solar energy at the nation's largest military installation, Fort Bliss in Texas and New Mexico.

A contract awarded Friday is valued at $16 million and is projected to save the Army post $39 million in energy costs over the next 24 years, Johnson Controls said.

The contract was awarded two weeks after President Barack Obama signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to make $2 billion worth of energy efficiency upgrades over the next two years, using energy-saving performance contracts like those offered by Johnson Controls.

Some 5,500 solar panels will be installed at Fort Bliss, along with new utility monitoring and control systems to manage energy at 120 different buildings. Together, the solar panels and energy-efficiency measures aim to reduce electricity use during peak power demand periods.

Fort Bliss, which encompasses 1.2 million acres in west Texas and New Mexico, is the country's largest military installation and is undergoing a $4 billion expansion, the military's largest expansion at any military installation since World War II.

Posted in: Energy efficiency,Energy policy,Solar