Royal Navy’s Portsmouth Naval Base will be receiving a new combined heat and power plant which will recycle energy, reduce carbon footprint and save the UK defense ministry up to £4million per year in energy costs.
BAE Systems is beginning work to install the plant as energy and electrical requirements at the naval base are set to increase when the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers arrive in their home port.
Chris Courtaux, Head of Engineering and Energy Services at BAE Systems, said: “By developing this new facility we will be able to recycle energy consumption on the naval base as well as deliver a significant cost saving. This is an innovative solution to support the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy.
A CHP system produces electricity and heat from a single fuel source and is able to retain excess heat which would have otherwise be wasted, the company explained.
To create this new facility a former boiler house will be converted into and is due to be completed by the end of 2018.
The £12million contract for the CHP facility forms an amendment to the Maritime Services Delivery Framework (MSDF) contract, awarded to BAE Systems by the Ministry of Defence in 2014. Under the MSDF contract, BAE Systems manages Portsmouth Naval Base on behalf of the Royal Navy, as well as supporting half of the Royal Navy’s surface fleet on UK and global operations.