In an age of diminishing budgets, the U.S. Navy is searching for ways to provide more reliable power at its utility plants without increasing costs. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are providing a solution by implementing an automated computer system that will operate naval plants. Already, at some San Diego-area naval bases, Pacific Northwest engineers have improved cost efficiency drastically by automating monitoring systems and updating equipment.
Researchers provide engineering, system installation, follow-up assistance, and training.
Pacific Northwest is six years into its contract to update and improve operations at San Diego-area plants for the Navy Public Works Center. Pacific Northwest has automated systems at four plants. The Naval Hospital San Diego has experienced substantial improvements in reliability and operations. The program is supported by DOE's Federal Energy Management Program. Workers who previously watched the systems for problems now rely on the computer system to page them when a problem occurs.