U.S. Navy Partners with Ameresco for $173 Million Cleantech Energy Project

Ameresco will implement advanced energy solutions that will maximize reliability and resiliency at Virginia Naval Shipyard

Feb. 9, 2021

2 min read

Ameresco, Inc. announced that the U.S. Navy and the Ameresco Federal Solutions team are breaking ground at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia.

This $173 million energy savings performance contract builds on Ameresco’s two decades of support to the NNSY mission to repair, overhaul, and refuel the most technologically advanced warships in the world, reported the press release.

Ameresco is now preparing to construct a new 19-megawatt (MW) combined heat and power (CHP) plant, a 3MW battery energy storage system, and a microgrid control system that will provide the site with long-term energy security while reducing the electricity imported from the grid by 68%.

Ameresco will refurbish existing backup power assets, integrate them into the microgrid, and upgrade the electric distribution system to provide redundant sources of supply, reported the press release.

This project features a new industrial wastewater treatment plant, which is a critical element of shipyard infrastructure that Ameresco has already begun to build.

“This project, which features both a new industrial water treatment plant and the integration of a new CHP plant and battery storage within a microgrid control system, will deliver long-term efficiency, reliability, and resiliency in support of the NNSY mission,” said Nicole Bulgarino, executive vice president and general manager of Federal Solutions at Ameresco in the press release. “We value our long-term partnership with the U.S. Navy and take seriously our responsibility to help advance their mission and support the environment through the deployment of clean energy technology.”

Once construction is completed in 2022, Ameresco will operate and maintain the CHP plant, industrial wastewater treatment plant, and microgrid until January 2044.

Over the course of the 22-year performance period following construction, the project will generate more than $411 million in guaranteed cost savings, added the press release.