By Kirk Phillips

Installations across the Department of the Air Force often are reliant on off-site energy. As extreme weather, cyberattacks, and man-made threats continue to threaten energy infrastructure, the department is constantly looking for ways to make installations more energy resilient, creating more lethal and ready power projection within the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.

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See the Finance First Presentation Materials (PDF).

The Finance First Information Session covered the following topics:

• The DAF’s “finance-first” concept
• Desired solution attributes
• Desired investor/partner attributes
• Submission process via the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) upcoming Area of Interest (AoI)

See the open solicitation on the Defense Innovation Unit website to submit your commercial solution proposals.

The U.S. Department of the Air Force (DAF), in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), is seeking large lead investors and investing syndicates to propose innovative financing solutions and project concepts for large-scale energy infrastructure investments that provide DAF installations with resilient, onsite, 24/7 clean energy. The Air Force Office of Energy Assurance (AF OEA), in partnership with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Environment, Safety, and Infrastructure (SAF/IEE) and DIU, is convening an information session to discuss this initiative.

The information session will occur on Mar. 24, 2023, from 11:00am - 12:00pm EST, and it will cover the following:

• The DAF’s “finance-first” concept
• Desired solution attributes
• Desired investor/partner attributes
• Submission process via the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) upcoming Area of Interest (AoI)

To attend the session, email AF.Energy.Assurance@us.af.mil with "Request to Attend Information Session" in the Subject line.

The Department of the Air Force acknowledges that unprecedented changes to the global climate and increasingly severe weather events create new challenges for continued mission assurance. As one of the largest energy consumers, the Department of Defense has a unique opportunity to catalyze private sector investment and expand the economy and American industry by transforming how we build, buy, and manage electricity, vehicles, buildings, and other operations. Read more...

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – On Feb. 14, the Department of the Air Force is kicking off a $10 million next-generation energy performance contract that will deliver resilient and reliable energy here.

The pilot project is the federal government’s first-ever effort to adopt and integrate a commercial Energy-as-a-Service, or EaaS, business model, which gives customers access to energy management services without upfront costs, to provide resilient, efficient, and cost-effective energy that will benefit an installation. Read more...

The Air Force Office of Energy Assurance (AF OEA) is excited to announce that the Department of Defense (DoD) has posted a geothermal solicitation to the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) website. Unlocking the potential of geothermal technology is a top priority of AF OEA to increase our resilience across the Air Force Enterprise.

The solicitation is seeking to prototype innovative technical onsite geothermal solution(s) to address installation energy resilience needs through geothermal electricity generation and distribution. An onsite conceptual geothermal facility could include conventional or non-conventional, pre-commercial geothermal technologies that are suitable for various geologic settings at DoD installations across the United States.

Response to this solicitation strongly recommend Solution Briefs be a maximum of 15 slides or 5 pages (12-point font). This response also has a short timeline with submittals due on 20 Jan 23.

For those interested, more information on this solicitation can be found here: https://www.diu.mil/work-with-us/submit-solution/PROJ00404

Presentation Materials (PDF)

On Friday, December 16^th, the Army Office of Energy Initiatives and the Defense Innovation Unit will be joining the Air Force Office of Energy Assurance as it leads a virtual discussion about each respective organization’s interest and plans for geothermal energy projects. This time will be used to educate, build relationships, and discuss energy goals and plans with industry. There will also be overviews of each program presented and time set aside for questions and discussion.

This is an exciting opportunity for the programs to engage with industry and advance possible opportunities to collaborate on geothermal energy projects in the future.

If you are interested in attending, please send a request for the details and logistics to AF.Energy.Assurance@us.af.mil with “Details for Geothermal Discussion” in the subject line.

October is Energy Awareness Month, and each year the Air Force Civil Engineering Center Office of Energy Assurance (OEA) celebrates by highlighting how energy, power, and water resilience is critical to mission assurance. The office continues to ensure mission continuity by evaluating installation energy, power, and water resilience needs and developing solutions to address resilience gaps. Specifically, as the threat of damaging climate events to our installations increases, OEA is leading the way in the development of modeling to inform our resilience solutions to mitigate climate impacts to mission. 

OEA is developing climate analytics to identify, prioritize, and develop projects that can increase energy resilience while mitigating and adapting to climate threats. The Office is encouraging the use of innovative green technologies such as geothermal, where OEA is engaging with market and Air Force stakeholders to identify potential benefits of geothermal systems. OEA is also researching advanced solar technologies and facilitating discussions between installations and industry. Utilizing these technologies, along with other installation readiness initiatives, allows OEA to supply power our forces safely and reliably.

OEA plays an active role in engaging communities and stakeholders to raise awareness, share best practices, identify innovative ways to increase energy efficiency and reaffirm the Air Force’s commitment to energy, power and water priorities. In 2020, the U.S. Air Force spent nearly $878 million on installation energy to power the Air Force mission. The Air Force continues to adapt to the dynamic energy landscape as they rise to meet evolving and complex global energy challenges.

To learn more about OEA's impact, explore the OEA StoryMap, an interactive map that shows OEA’s current energy, power and water resilient engagements, concepts and projects with Air Force installations across the nation.

Visit https://www.safie.hq.af.mil/EnergyAwarenessMonth/ for resources and follow the hashtag #EnergyAbleMissionCapable at www.facebook.com/AirForceEnergy and www.twitter.com/AFEnergy.

The Air Force Office of Energy Assurance (OEA), along with other AFCEC offices, is pleased to invite you to join us on for a virtual Energy Exchange Sidebar meeting on Wednesday, August 4, 2021 from 4 – 5 p.m. ET!

The sidebar will provide attendees with information about OEA’s current activities, introduce new staff, discuss how to partner with OEA, and presentations from other AFCEC offices. After the initial session, we will transition to a presentation on Energy Resilience and Climate. We will discuss the below topics and take questions at the end of the sidebar. Energy Exchange registration is not required to participate in this webinar.

TO JOIN, please email Emma Skelley-Stoffa at Skelley-Stoffa_Emma@bah.com.

Agenda:

• Introduction of New Staff
• OEA Updates
• How to Partner with OEA
• AFCEC Office Presentations
• Energy and Climate
• Closing

The Air Force Office of Energy Assurance (OEA), the integrators of installation resilience solutions, welcomed two new staff members. In March and May 2021, respectively, Mr. Kirk A. Phillips and Ms. Tenisha “Marie” Finley joined the OEA team.

OEA is achieving the Installation Energy vision of mission assurance through energy assurance by identifying energy resilience gaps and opportunities for which it then develops impactful resilience solutions. OEA connects the Department of the Air Force (DAF) enterprise and installation stakeholders with energy and water resilience partners, emerging technologies, and industry best practices.  Since its establishment in 2016, OEA has:

• worked with more than 80 Air Force installations serving as a central office helping installations identify and integrate energy resilience solutions; and
• transitioned more than 30 energy resilience solutions to executable projects at Air Force installations around the world.

In March 2021, Mr. Kirk Phillips became director of OEA. Prior to joining OEA, Phillips was the Health Safety and Environmental Practice Leader and Vice President at LJB Inc. and worked as a thought leader with the American Industrial Hygiene Association on Total Exposure Health.  As the Practice Leader of HS&E, Phillips provided comprehensive health, safety, and environmental services to all segments of industry across the US and internationally.

In 2018, Phillips retired as the BSC Associate Chief for Bioenvironmental Engineering in the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General where he oversaw development and execution of Air Force occupational and environmental health policies. Phillips has held a broad range of leadership positions throughout the Air Force including leading his career field as Deputy in the Bioenvironmental Engineering Division at the Air Force Medical Operations Agency, and as the Commander of the 47th Medical Support Squadron, Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas.

Ms. Marie Finley joined OEA as the Resilience Requirements Division Chief in May 2021.  After serving more than 20 years in the Navy, Finley retired in September 2020.  Finley has held a broad range of leadership positions throughout her Navy career.  Prior to retirement, she served as a Senior Manpower Analyst assigned to the Department of Defense Joint Staff, Manpower and Personnel Directorate, where she provided counsel and support in order to develop best military advice to national decision makers and provide strategic direction to the Joint Force, enabling global integration to achieve maximum comprehensive Joint Force readiness.  

In addition to these staff updates, OEA continues to evolve its processes to better serve the DAF; for instance, OEA is retitling Phase 0 Reports as “Resilience Solution Reports” (RSRs) to alleviate confusion around the use of the terms “Phase 0” or “Phase 0 Report”.  The title, RSR, best captures the purpose of the document as a thorough description of project and acquisition concepts which address resilience needs.  OEA is eager to continue to produce these reports and promote effective, executable resilience solutions across the DAF.

Want to know more about the future of OEA?  Save the dates for these OEA presentations during the 2021 virtual Energy Exchange, August 2 – 6.  This annual event, hosted by the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), features engaging and topical trainings and sessions across the federal energy and water management community.

• OEA Advisor and Innovation Division Chief, Mr. Shawn Bennett is presenting at the Underutilized Contracting Authorities panel on Monday, August 2nd from 2:30 – 4 p.m. ET.  Speakers will address underutilized mechanisms such as the progress and challenges with Other Transactional Authorities (OTA), more comprehensive use of GSA Areawides, implementation and considerations of Intergovernmental Support Agreements (IGSAs), and the use and impact of certain DoD special authorities.
• OEA Director, Mr. Kirk Phillips is presenting at the DoD Tri-Service panel on Thursday, August 5th from 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET.  Phillips will be joined on the panel by his Army and Navy counterparts Mr. Robert Hughes (Army) and Mr. Matthew Haupt (Navy).  The session will discuss the latest on U.S. Department of Defense energy programs from the key personnel responsible for the implementation of DoD’s Energy Strategy at the operational level in the military departments.  Participants will have an opportunity to ask about new initiatives and the progress of ongoing programs.
• OEA is hosting an Industry Sidebar on Wednesday, August 4th from 3 – 4 p.m. ET.  This online webinar event will provide office updates, introduce new staff, discuss how to partner with OEA, and host a presentation on Energy Resilience.  If you are interested in attending, please reach out to Emma Skelley-Stoffa (Skelley-Stoffa_Emma@bah.com). NOTE: Energy Exchange registration is not required to participate in this webinar.

Visit Work with OEA for more information on partnership and engagement opportunities.

Stay in touch with the OEA by subscribing to its OEA Updates newsletter.  

Each October, the Air Force Office of Energy Assurance (OEA) participates in the Department of Defense Energy Action Month (EAM) campaign by working with its Air Force partners to highlight energy resilience as a critical component to the global Air Force mission. Annually, the U.S. Air Force spends nearly $6 billion on energy to power the Air Force mission. As the Air Force combats evolving and complex global challenges, it is increasingly important to adapt to the dynamic energy landscape.

This year, the Air Force’s theme of “Energy Able, Mission Capable” demonstrates how efficient energy use increases mission capability and readiness to fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace. OEA champions this theme by developing innovative, requirements-focused energy solutions that provide the Air Force with mission-ready installations. As the Air Force Energy Storefront, OEA functions as the facilitator and integrator of energy assurance efforts. The Storefront platform site, launched in 2018, allows Air Force partners to submit installation energy requirements. Using its energy assurance process, OEA then works with its partners to identify and implement holistic energy solutions which satisfy mission requirements.

OEA actively engages industry and community partners to raise awareness, share best practices, identify innovative ways to increase energy efficiency and reaffirm the Air Force’s commitment to energy priorities. OEA has an open Request for Information (RFI), solicitation number W912DY-19-U-OEA1, to collect technical and financial data as well as innovative project development concepts from industry.

To learn more about OEA’s impact, explore the OEA StoryMap (https://arcg.is/1HDS8v), an interactive map that shows OEA’s current energy resilience engagements, concepts and projects with Air Force installations across the nation.

Visit www.safie.hq.af.mil/EnergyActionMonth for resources and follow the hashtag #EnergyAbleMissionCapable at www.facebook.com/AirForceEnergy and www.twitter.com/AFEnergy.

Following the success of a similar solicitation, the Air Force Office of Energy Assurance (OEA) issued a new Request for Information (RFI) for 2019, solicitation number W912DY-19-U-OEA1, to collect technical and financial data as well as innovative project development concepts from industry. OEA plans to use the information provided by industry to identify new energy resilience opportunities, as well as build on its project development portfolio.

This Open RFI has no deadline for responses. For more information visit SAM.gov.