On October 17, 2014, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Energy issued a solicitation for proposals to construct and operate a large-scale renewable energy project at Fort Hood in Texas, the U.S. military’s largest active duty armored post.  The Fort Hood project is part of the efforts of the Army Office of Energy Initiatives (OEI), which has already created a number of renewable energy generation opportunities at Army and other Department of Defense (DoD) facilities across the United States.  In addition to other recent procurement initiatives focusing on clean energy technology, OEI’s efforts confirm that DoD is committed to actively pursuing sources of renewable energy.

The Fort Hood project, which will involve the construction and operation of an on-site solar power generation system and an off-site wind energy generation system, is designed to meet 100% of Fort Hood’s electrical energy requirements at its Main, West Fort Hood, and Clarke Road substation meters.  Under this arrangement, the Government will commit to purchase the renewable energy generated from these two systems at a fixed price during a contract term of up to 29 years once the facilities are operational.  OEI anticipates that the on-site generation system will produce up to 40 megawatts of solar power, and will enhance Fort Hood’s overall energy security with a microgrid-ready design.

Interested bidders are invited to attend a pre-proposal event at Fort Hood on November 6, 2014.  The deadline for submission of proposals is December 17, 2014.  OEI has announced that it expects that an award will be made under the solicitation in early 2015.