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Friday, April 29, 2005
by Liz Babiarz, Frederick NewsPostOnline.com
A team of private companies agreed Thursday to build and operate a natural gas-fired power plant on Fort Detrick, a first of its kind project for the military. Under the agreement, ChevronTexaco and Keenan Development will lease land on Fort Detrick, where they plan to build a 30-megawatt power plant. The companies will privately finance the project.
For use of the land, the companies will provide electricity, steam and chilled water to the planned National Interagency Biodefense Campus, the garrison and other tenants, said Col. John Ball, garrison commander.Although the details are still being negotiated, Col. Ball said the plant will be a cost-effective solution to the post's energy needs."It cuts down emissions, cuts costs and helps minimize duplication," Col. Ball said.
The plant may also produce electricity that could be used by Frederick city and Frederick County, if there's an interest, said Ken Ormsbee, director of ChevronTexaco's federal business unit. The plant, which is slated for a 10-acre plot in the middle of the post, could be running by June 2007, Mr. Ormsbee said."It will mean enhanced reliability of electricity on Fort Detrick, as opposed to buying electricity off a grid," Mr. Ormsbee said." ... And it's environmentally friendly compared to other options."Because its early in the development process, officials from ChevronTexaco and Keenan Development said the size of the plant, its configuration and the price tag are up in the air. But by industry standards, a 30-megawatt plant can cost between $40 to $50 million to construct.
A co-generation plant produces electricity and steam at the same time. It burns natural gas to create high pressure steam, and that steam is used to spin a turbine or a generator set to create electricity.Fort Detrick has many steps to go before the plant is operating.Members of the two companies will met next Tuesday to discuss the lease, the plant design, permits and a gas source, said J. Lyle Glenn, of Keenan Development, based in Columbia, S.C. The type of lease agreement the Army is using for the power plant project is called "enhanced used lease."All branches of the Armed Forces can use this lease. Some bases have used it to partner with the private sector to restore historic buildings or build residential units.
But Fort Detrick is the first to use the lease to build a power plant. Thomas Kretzschmar, a realty specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said he didn't believe it would be long before other bases followed Fort Detrick's lead."Government-wide there is an effort to privatize utilities," Mr. Kretzschmar said. "... The private sector can do it more efficiently and less costly."The ChevronTexaco/Keenan Development team was among nine firms to bid on the project.Frederick County Commissioner Michael Cady, upon hearing about the project from a reporter, said "if this is in Fort Detrick's best interest, then I'm very much in favor of doing it."When asked if the county would buy electricity from the post, Mr. Cady said the commissioners would have to consult with its energy suppliers to see if it is in "our collective best interest."In addition to the Fort Detrick plant, construction on a 600-megawatt, natural gas-fired electric plant in the Buckeystown area could begin this year.
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