The U.S Navy awarded a $998,882 contract to a multi-national firm for the design and construction of a distributed energy microgrid at Naval Air Station Sigonella (NASSIG) last month.
The microgrid will improve energy security for the installation by improving the resilience of the base’s potable water and firefighting capabilities.
Environmental Chemical Corporation (ECC) Italy, SRL, an employee-owned firm that provides construction, environmental, and infrastructure solutions for government and commercial clients, won the design-build firm-fixed-price contract.
ECC will install photovoltaic panels, replace switchgear and related infrastructure, and install battery storage and control systems.
“This investment enhances our energy security and enables us to maintain critical operations even during grid outages,” said Capt. Daniel Martins, commanding officer, NAS Sigonella.
Building resilience once microgrid at a time
“This project incorporates lessons learned from energy resilience readiness exercises,” said Antonino Piluso, NAS Sigonella installation energy manager. “It aligns with executive policy to utilize multiple secure and redundant fuel sources to ensure electric power grid resiliency and extend operations such as our water treatment plant.”
In 2022, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps both announced plans to build cybersecure microgrids at critical military installations.
In March, the Navy awarded a nearly $97 million contract to build a battery storage microgrid on its base in Guam.
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, near San Diego, added a battery energy storage system to its microgrid in late 2024, around the same time that Naval Submarine Base New London (Connecticut) launched its cybersecure microgrid.
The U.S. Army’s climate strategy also aims for a microgrid at nearly every installation by 2035. The Army Corps of Engineers recently announced it was nearing completion on a 12-MW natural gas-powered microgrid at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Microgrids have recently come online at Fort Hunter-Ligget in California and Fort Riley in Kansas.
The Hub of the Med
NAS Sigonella is part of the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Europe, Africa, Central (EURAFCENT), and is located on the east coast of Sicily.
Known as “The Hub of the Med” because of its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, the base supports the Navy’s 6th Fleet and other military units.
Both a U.S. Naval installation and an Italian Air Force base, NASSIG provides operational, command and control, administrative and advanced logistical support to U.S. and NATO forces across Europe, Africa and Central Asia.
