With increasing energy costs and the need to operate in more sustainable ways, the environmental remediation sector is now integrating more energy efficient and sustainable solutions. The Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE) has applied this approach to groundwater remediation systems at the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR). This case study presents a more sustainable approach to remediation at the MMR through the use of renewable energy, in the form of a 1500 kW wind turbine. Power costs for operating the treatment systems, which process approximately 15 million gallons per day, were in excess of $2.2 million in 2008. The wind turbine is anticipated to reduce the program’s electricity costs and offset air emissions, generated indirectly through the use of electricity from fossil fuel based power plants, by approximately 30%. Based on a range of utility cost projections and an estimate of the turbine’s output, the $4.6 million project is anticipated to have a payback period between six and eight years.
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