The Army Is Going Green

[Dan Moadus]

On average, Carbone said a Nordic turbine produces enough energy to power about 250-300 average sized homes.  When the wind blows.

[irishbobcat]

The Army Is Going Green

FORT HUACHUCA — The installation of a large wind turbine on the south range near the aerostat is the beginning of the fort's effort to produce much or all of its own power. Construction is underway on the project. But, before changes can happen here, the turbine needs to undergo extensive testing.

"We realize we are going to go green; all (Army) posts are going to go green. It's inevitable," stated Sam Montanez, energy engineer with the Directorate of Public Works. Montanez said he believes Fort Huachuca is the first post to have a large turbine installed and undergo this type of testing.

Once the turbine is up and running, staff at the Electronic Proving Ground on post will test the wind turbine for a year to see if it interferes with various operations.

"They're going to test it against everything that they know that could hurt any mission that we (Fort Huachuca) have," explained Montanez.

The project started about four and a half years ago. Originally, DPW wanted to put up smaller turbines, but Montanez said they had problems obtaining them since nobody was manufacturing the small ones any more.

So DPW held off on the project until they could get a large turbine.

"I think it's going to open the door to a lot of installations to start putting these up on their installations," he said, adding, "What we're trying to do on post here is just go net zero. We want to produce our own power. We want to not be dependent on an electric company."

Nordic Windpower is the manufacturer of the turbine, and this is the first time Nordic Windpower has worked with a military installation. "The opportunity to serve a community like Fort Huachuca is very exciting." said Tom Carbone, CEO of Nordic Windpower.

On average, Carbone said a Nordic turbine produces enough energy to power about 250-300 average sized homes.

The wind turbine on Fort Huachuca is being constructed on Garden Canyon Road at the detour to DeConcini Hill.

Those traveling to the aerostat should expect traffic delays while the unit is installed, a process that will take several weeks. By the middle of February, Montanez said the turbine should be up and ready to produce power.