The wind farm is playing a key role in helping Pantex achieve President Obamas directive that the federal government lead the way in clean energy and energy efficiency, with his Administrations goal for the federal government to get 20% of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020.
The Pantex Renewable Energy Project (PREP)
Joe Papp | Pantex Renewable Energy Project
Can you give us a short description of the Pantex Renewable Energy Program?
The Pantex Renewable Energy Project (PREP) is an 11.5 megawatt, five-turbine wind farm on 1,500 acres of DOE-owned land adjacent to Pantex Plant. PREP is capable of providing up to 60 percent of the electricity for Pantex operations. PREP generates approximately 47 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which is enough to power nearly 3,500 homes and reduce CO2 emissions by over 35,000 metric tons per year—the equivalent of removing 7,200 cars from the road each year or planting 850,000 trees.
Has the Pantex Renewable Energy Program, or PREP, performed as expected?
The wind farm is playing a key role in helping Pantex achieve President Obama’s directive that the federal government lead the way in clean energy and energy efficiency, with his Administration’s goal for the federal government to get 20% of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020.
Why was Pantex chosen for this renewable energy project?
Pantex was awarded an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) with Siemens through NNSA because of the class four winds found in the Texas Panhandle. This project presented a unique opportunity for the Pantex electricity load to be directly connected to PREP behind the utility meter.
What are the critical outcomes of this project and why is it so important?
In 2015, the wind farm at Pantex produced approximately 44,000 Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). The new Executive Order 13693 requires 10% of a facility’s energy consumption to come from onsite generation or purchase of REC’s. PREP allows Pantex to not only meet its REC requirements, but is also capable of supplying excess RECS to other DOE sites within the complex. Last year, Pantex supplied its sister site Y-12 with enough RECs to meet their goal for the last two years. This saved the site from having to purchase the associated REC’s.
Have you had any major interruptions at the Pantex Wind Farm?
The plant has experienced no operational issues by connecting the wind farm generation directly to the plant electrical system.
Any chance there will be an expansion in the wind farm?
Currently there are no plans, but we are always looking for ways to lessen our dependence on traditional energy sources.
About Joe Papp
Joe Papp is the senior director of the Mission Engineering organization at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas. Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC manages and operates the Pantex Plant and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The Pantex Mission Engineering organization is comprised of approximately 400 personnel and is responsible for weapons procedures, tooling and tester design for weapons, safety analysis and facility engineering, including responsibility for safety significant and safety class systems. Prior to his current assignment, Papp was the senior nuclear facility representative for Pantex and was responsible for approximately 60 Category 2 nuclear facilities as well as approximately 100 additional facilities that support the nuclear facilities. He also has 10 years of documented safety analysis experience.
The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of AltEnergyMag
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