MOD to save £3m by battling energy consumption

Engineers have established a specialist control room that allows them to remotely manage energy use at 35 of the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) highest energy consuming sites.


The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), which is responsible for MOD establishments, spends around £1m a day on energy and engineers from CarillionEnterprise (C-E) estimate that their control room, known as an energy bureau, can save the DIO more than £3m over the next three years.

C-E carbon strategy manager Ray Antonelli said: “The bureau offers Remote Active Energy Management (RAEM) for the estates via on-site Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) and metering facilities which are connected to the bureau.”

Under the plans, the bureau team can monitor and control the operation of energy systems, recording consumption and providing monthly performance reports showing how closely each site is meeting energy and carbon reduction targets. Action plans tailored for each site can then be provided each year.

The bureau is then able to use data collected to optimise BEMS, make real time changes if necessary and identify further opportunities for investment to reduce both energy use and carbon emissions.

The DIO is undergoing a three-year, £105m investment programme on a range of initiatives to save £110m by 2014, and £70m each year thereafter. The first year of the programme will contribute 5% towards the MOD Greening Government Target to reduce carbon emissions by 25% by 2015.

The C-E work is led by its Carbon Strategy Team in partnership with the DIO Utilities Team, and in addition to creating the bureau, it has delivered around 40 energy projects within the central region in the first year of the investment programme and more than 230 projects in the second year.

Conor McGlone

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