Being stationed at the most northern Coast Guard station on the east coast certainly has its share of challenges. The water temperature this winter averaged 37 degrees Fahrenheit and the rocky coast is unforgiving to careless or unlucky mariners.
For Chief Petty Officer James Malcolm, the officer in charge of Coast Guard Station Eastport, the greatest challenge of all is dealing with the sheer force of the water brought in by the 22-foot tides and 6-knots of current that flow through the deep channels of the St Croix River.
The Old Sow, a geological feature near Eastport, is home to the largest tidal whirlpool in North America. The combination of extreme tides and bathymetry cause a unique vortex that can create a 10-foot depression on the water's surface as millions of gallons of water rush past Eastport.
For the Coast Guard, these environmental challenges illicit only one response -- if you cannot change it, use it. Why not harness the immense and predictable power of the tides to power the Coast Guard Station?
It is fitting that on Earth Day Coast Guard Sector Northern New England, in a partnership with the Coast Guard Research and Development Center, announced a plan to test tidal generators off station Eastport.
Qualified partners could be authorized up to $100,000 to test in-stream tidal equipment this summer. The local community has been extremely supportive and state and congressional delegations participated in the Earth Day press event at Coast Guard Station South Portland. The proposals are intended to test actual generators in the extreme currents and tides.
With 22 Coast Guard units guarding an area spanning over 5,000 miles of coastline, Sector Northern New England strives to be a steward of the environment by pursuing renewable energy sources to help decrease our dependency on fossil fuels.
Most are aware of Coast Guard's role in protecting the marine environment, but we also have responsibilities to the taxpayers too. Nature provides other opportunities for New England units and solar and wind power are part of the plan. Sector Northern New England has initiated the following:
* A wind turbine was installed at Coast Guard Station South Portland, powering several computers with 125-kilowatt hours per month.
* A wind turbine was installed at our Coast Guard Station Southwest Harbor, powering over 20 computers, servers, and monitors with 244-kilowatt hours per month.
* 360 lighted buoys and 60 lighthouses are currently powered by solar panels.
Adm. Thad Allen, Commandant of the Coast Guard, and Senator Collins were recently briefed on the Eastport tidal energy initiatives.
The following were participants in a press conference held at Coast Guard Sector Northern New England on Earth Day, April 22, 2009:
Cheryl Leeman, of Senator Snowe's office
Sara Holmbom Lund, of Senator Collin's office
Jim Pineau, of Congresswoman Pingree's office
Jennifer Puser, of Maine's Governor’s Office of Energy and Security
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This is just one example of Coast Guard green initiatives undertaken. Other examples include:
* The Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Md., opened the Coast Guard's first Landfill Gas Renewable Energy Center.
* Cadets at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., created a network to reduce, reuse, and recycle; such as reducing paper and Styrofoam waste; testing methods to reduce water consumption; and recycling electronics and electrical devices.
* Air Station Sitka, Alaska completed a Facility Energy Efficiency Fund project that targeted several savings programs in lighting energy. They installed new lighting systems in all work areas, including a 66,250 square foot aircraft hanger, and replaced standard light switches with motion detector switches.
* Instead of renovating the Coast Guard innovated Station Emerald Isle, N.C., using recycled products such as overhead doors (60% recycled product); gypsum panels (100% recycled product); steel doors (35% recycled product).
* Electronic Systems Sustainment Detachment, Southwest Harbor, Maine, installed a centralized Renewable Energy Uninterruptible Power Supply (REUPS) that generates electrical power by wind and solar energy. The command has successfully reduced its dependence on commercial energy supply by approximately 43 percent.
* In Feb. 2008, a new small arms firing range in Integrated Support Command Honolulu, Hawaii was the first in the Coast Guard to be designated as a “reduced hazard ammunition” facility. The facility requires that only lead free ammunition is used, which significantly reduces the environmental impact of operating a firing range.
During the week of April 16-22, various Coast Guard units have coordinated volunteer events to celebrate Earth Day. These include beach and harbor clean-ups to remove trash and harmful materials, tree-plantings and promoting awareness about our environment.
3 comments:
While the implications towards a greener planet are certainly laudable, I personally like these projects because it makes the US less dependant on foreign power and oil. The most succesful implementation of green projects has been done at the practical/tactical level. BZ to the folks up in my home state and my organization for jumping on this. These alternative projects can also sustain us during disasters and black-outs, and that's what being "Semper-P" is all about.
Great post and lets keep this stuff coming.
Great to see your name in the Blogosphere CAPT! Just seems like yesterday we were all at JFO Baton Rouge!
We missed one...
This was shared with us by the National Maritime Center:
The U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center obtained the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification for their newly constructed building in Martinsburg, W. Va., on Nov. 17 for an environmental, economic, and occupant-oriented friendly building. LEED for New Construction is a rating system for buildings that was designed to guide and distinguish high performance buildings that have less of an impact on the environment and are healthier for those who work and/or live in the building.
The NMC building achieved its Silver Certification through the U.S. Green Building Council, and was specifically recognized for conserving energy and for being a high-performance sustainable building. This certification was obtained through the combined efforts of the U. S. Coast Guard, U. S. General Services Administration, JDL Martinsburg LLC and their respective contractors, architects and engineers. Achieving the difficult to obtain Silver Certification far exceeded requirements for the building and narrowly missed LEED’s Gold Certification.
Some of the unique features of this "green" building are the conservation of electrical usage, water consumption, and the use of eco friendly materials in both the construction and operation of the building combined with an aggressive recycling program actively supported by NMC’s 225 employees. Additionally, low water usage plants were used for "green" landscaping and strategically placed large rocks from the building site's natural landscape form a physical security barrier for the building.
LEED concentrates its efforts on improving performance across five key areas of environmental and human health: energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, materials selection, sustainable site development and water savings.
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