The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency has awarded a 20-year contract to ReEnergy Black River, a subsidiary of Latham, New York-based
ReEnergy Holdings. Under the terms of this renewable energy supply agreement, ReEnergy Black River says it will provide secure, renewable electricity to Fort Drum.
“This is good news not only for ReEnergy, but for Fort Drum and the North Country region. This will enhance energy security and position Fort Drum as a leader in meeting the military’s ambitious renewable energy goals,” says Larry Richardson, the chief executive officer of ReEnergy Holdings. “The ReEnergy team is proud to assist the U.S. Army in meeting its renewable energy goals, and looks forward to enhancing the North Country’s green energy economy.”
The Defense Logistics Agency, the entity that awarded the contract, provides the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, other federal agencies and combined and allied forces with logistics, acquisition and technical services.
ReEnergy Black River submitted a proposal in spring 2013 to the Defense Logistics Agency as part of a competitive procurement process to provide renewable power to Fort Drum, a U.S. Army installation that is home to 37,000 soldiers and family members and employs almost 4,000 civilians.
The federal government is increasing its demand for long-term renewable energy as a result of renewable goals established in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Executive Order 13423, and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. In addition, the Army has established a goal to achieve 1 gigawatt of renewable energy by 2025.
This contract is the largest renewable energy project in the history of the U.S. Army.
The ReEnergy Black River facility, located inside the fence at Fort Drum, has 60 megawatts of generation capacity. Before it was idled in early 2010 by its former owner, the facility primarily burned coal to produce electricity. ReEnergy acquired the facility in December 2011 and invested more than $34 million to convert the facility to use biomass as its primary fuel, creating new jobs, environmental benefits, and a new renewable energy source for the North Country region. The converted facility commenced operations in May 2013. It employs 33 individuals, and purchases biomass from suppliers that employ approximately 145 individuals to sustainably harvest biomass fuel from local forests. The facility will provide all of Fort Drum’s electricity needs, which currently peaks at about 28 megawatts.
The facility will begin supplying 100 percent of Fort Drum’s electrical load as of Nov. 1. Under the terms of the agreement, ReEnergy will build an electric transmission line to directly connect the ReEnergy Black River facility to Fort Drum’s two substations. Prior to the completion of that line, which is anticipated for late summer 2015, ReEnergy will arrange for bilateral deliveries to Fort Drum’s substations through an energy service company.
In 2013, ReEnergy Black River achieved certification to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Standard, which verifies that the facility’s biomass procurement program promotes land stewardship and responsible forestry practices. ReEnergy says it is the first company solely devoted to electricity production to be certified to the SFI Standard.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) selected ReEnergy Black River to sell renewable energy credits (RECs) to NYSERDA under New York’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. The Renewable Portfolio Standard, administered by NYSERDA, is a program that is tasked with obtaining 30 percent of New York’s electricity from renewable sources by 2015.
Through a program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and in collaboration with SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, the ReEnergy Black River facility also will use locally grown shrub willow as a fuel.
ReEnergy Holdings LLC, a portfolio company of Riverstone Holdings LLC, owns and/or operates facilities that use forest-derived woody biomass and other waste residues to produce renewable energy. It also owns facilities in New England that recycle construction and demolition (C&D) debris. ReEnergy owns and/or operates nine energy-generating facilities with 325 megawatts of installed renewable energy generation capacity and processes for recycling more than 700,000 tons per year of C&D material.
ReEnergy is headquartered in New York and employs approximately 80 individuals in the state. The company owns three biomass-to-electricity facilities in New York: ReEnergy Black River at Fort Drum; ReEnergy Lyonsdale in Lewis County; and ReEnergy Chateaugay in Franklin County. Those three facilities have the installed capacity of 103 megawatts – enough electricity to serve 96,000 homes.
