To read part one of our series on Defence Forces energy efficiencies, please click here. The Irish Defence Forces consists of a Permanent Defence Force (PDF), a first-line reserve and a Reserve Defence Force (RDF). The PDF provides the primary capabilities for operations at home and combined military peace-support operations abroad. The PDF consists of the Army, the Air Corps and the Naval Service. To carry out its roles, the Defence Forces operates and maintains a modern fleet of 1,700 land vehicles, 27 aircraft and eight naval vessels, as well as 17 military installations across the State. Energy efficiency has been a priority for the Defence Forces for many years, not least due to the adoption of ambitious EU and national energy efficiency targets since 2006. The Defence Forces’ engagement with energy was also strongly influenced by long experience in austere overseas environments (land and maritime), where energy and water conservation and environmental management were key factors in ensuring operational success. In 2012, the Irish Defence Forces achieved certification to ISO 50001 International Energy Management Standard – the first complete Armed Forces to do so. A significant milestone along this journey was in 2007, when the Defence Forces first assigned a dedicated engineer officer to address overall energy challenges within the organisation. This represented a shift in approach to energy management from energy cost to energy usage. It focused attention on the significant energy users (SEUs) in the organisation and, more importantly, it ensured that energy management became a cross-functional responsibility within the organisation.

First steps to energy savings

The first step was to implement the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) Energy Management Action Plan ‘Energy MAP’. This was a management action plan that provided a guide to creating best practice in the organisation. Energy MAP is based on five pillars:
  • Commitment to energy management by senior management;
  • Identify significant energy users, energy drivers and energy saving-opportunities;
  • Develop a plan of action to achieve policy goals and savings opportunities;
  • Take action by implementing the Implementing the Energy MAP; and
  • Review, lessons learned, adjust and repeat.
As a public-sector body, the Defence Forces is committed to the Irish Government’s National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP), which sets an ambitious target of a 33 per cent improvement in energy performance by 2020, compared to a baseline year of 2005. This equates to a 3 per cent improvement in performance each year. [caption id="attachment_30120" align="alignright" width="211"]Defence Forces energy Defence Forces Energy Register 2015[/caption] NEEAP also obliges the public sector to “be seen to lead by example – showing all sectors what is possible through strong committed action”. To meet this ambitious target, a Defence Forces policy was formalised and a document was published by the Defence Forces in 2008, entitled ‘The Defence Forces Energy Register’. This document declared the commitment of the Irish Defence Forces to: “...responsible energy and water conservation and management. It will endeavour to continually improve both energy and water usage performance across all installations, plant and equipment”. The Energy Register sets out:
  • The overall energy-management plan for the Defence Forces;
  • The short-, medium- and long-term goals of the energy management plan;
  • The energy-management structure from Defence Forces Headquarters right down to each individual military installation; and,
  • To ensure best practices are carried out in procurement, design and operation with regard to energy performance throughout the Defence Forces.
Other key elements of the Energy Register include:
  • The scope of the Energy Management System (EnMS). Focusing on the SEUs in the Defence Forces in order to maximise outputs;
  • Establishment of the Senior Energy Executive. The Senior Energy Executive is a body composed of senior staff in the Defence Forces who bear overall responsibility for driving energy-efficiency policies in the Defence Forces. This body represents the ‘buy in’ from senior management within the organisation and is a key component of change management;
  • Assigning roles and responsibilities of key personnel from general staff level right down to installation level, including the establishment of energy-management teams in each installation; and,
  • Setting up an Opportunities Register. This details energy-saving opportunities that can be implemented at installation level. This list is ‘live’, allowing input from technical and non-technical personnel promoting buy-in across the Defence Forces.
The Energy Register is a live document that has undergone two subsequent reviews since 2008, which reflects the dynamic nature of the Defence Forces' approach to addressing the energy challenge.

ISO 50001 certification and future plans

[caption id="attachment_30121" align="alignright" width="300"]Defence Forces energy 1 Lt Gen Conor O’Boyle (DF chief of staff 2012-15) receives the ISO 50001 award from Dr Brian Motherway , CEO SEAI and Ruth Burke of SGS Ireland (independent auditor)[/caption] These various endeavours culminated in 2012, when the Irish Defence Forces achieved certification to ISO 50001. Since 2012, the Defence Forces has worked hard to maintain this standard and this work was rewarded in December 2015, when it achieved recertification for a further three years. In 2014, the Defence Forces began attending the Energy and Environment Working Group in the European Defence Agency to share knowledge with other countries with respect to energy management. Earlier this year, the Irish Department of Defence signed an agreement to take part in the ‘Smart Blue Water Camps’ project in collaboration with other EDA European Member States. The project attempts to address energy and environmental concerns with regard to water usage and management in military installations. The Defence Forces is also an active participant in the European Commission’s Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector, which is also managed by the European Defence Agency. The efforts of the Defence Forces in reducing energy consumption and improving overall energy performance has resulted in a reduction of 17% reduction in annual energy consumption without compromising on operational output from 2007-2015, while CO2 emissions were reduced by over 8,800 tonnes. While the savings have been significant in both monetary and energy terms, the energy-management systems and structures in place ensure that the Defence Forces continues to identify additional savings. Future plans include increasing use of renewable-energy sources, increased data analysis of utilities and vehicles, improve operational capabilities on overseas deployment with respect to energy and collaboration on energy projects with other European stakeholders to share best practice and learn from other militaries through the European Defence Agency. The implementation of an effective energy-management system and the engagement of senior leaders in the high-level Senior Energy Executive has ensured that the Defence Forces is now in a position to deliver a cost effective, energy efficient and environmentally responsible service to the State across its full range of responsibilities. A meeting of the Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector is set to take place on 8 and 9 June in the Croke Park Conference Centre in Dublin. For more details, please go to this website www.eda.europa.eu/eden. Adrian QuinnCaptain Adrian Quinn is an officer in the Irish Defence Forces Corps of Engineers and is the Defence Forces’ energy manager since 2015. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from National University of Ireland, Galway and has served in the Irish Defence Forces for 13 years. Captain Quinn has deployed with the Corps of Engineers to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in 2013. See www.military.ie.