POWER PUSH
Ranging in size from 5 to 60 kilowatts (kW), AMMPS are 21 percent more fuel-efficient on average than the Tacti- cal Quiet Generators (TQGs) currently deployed to Afghanistan.
According to the AMMPS Business Case Analysis, the fuel savings associated with them will allow the Army to remove 1,000 fuel tankers from supply convoys per month in Afghanistan. Deploying the first 1,500-plus sets to Afghanistan will save $40 million per year in fuel and $16.8 million per year in operational and sustainment costs in the region. AMPPS are projected to save about 250,000 gal- lons of fuel each month.
AMMPS are also smaller, lighter, and sig- nificantly more reliable, saving 346,000 hours of maintenance manpower per year in Afghanistan. AMMPS upgrades also include a 40 percent commonality of parts between generators of separate sizes, making it more cost-effective and easier to keep them running.
In one sense, the success of the AMMPS program can be traced back to the devel- opment of requirements, a collaborative effort between the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Combined
Arms Support Command, and PM MEP. The improvements in generator technol- ogy between the development of TQGs in the late 1980s and the start of AMMPS in 2004 made it possible for the Army to acquire a smaller and lighter system while significantly increasing fuel savings and reliability. During the engineering, man- ufacturing, and developmental phase, the AMMPS generators met or exceeded each of these requirements.
Innovative acquisition methods also played a part. Following a 20-month delay due to contractual protests, PM MEP pursued an aggressive testing schedule to prove the reliability of the system and to get the pro- gram back on track. The generators were inundated with blowing sand and pouring rain, and were subjected to extreme tem- peratures (minus 50 degrees to 165 degrees Fahrenheit). Once developmental and operational testing were complete, with a successful limited user test held in March 2011, the PM pursued and earned a rare simultaneous full-rate production decision and full materiel release decision in July.
With support from Army and DoD lead- ership, PM MEP received additional funding to accelerate production and to field 1,500-plus AMMPS generators
to Soldiers
in Afghanistan. PM MEP
has been coordinating with the Army G-4 and U.S. Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A), with plans to field AMMPS generators
in Afghanistan from April through July 2012.
We now must avoid becoming compla- cent. We have made it our priority to work with power-dependent project managers to ensure that the equipment continues to operate properly with other systems as it evolves, and that generators are sized cor- rectly to power the systems they support.
MANAGING WITH MICRO-GRIDS In 2011, with funding from the Office of
the Assistant Secretary of Defense
for Operational Energy Plans and Pro- grams, PM MEP deployed DoD’s first operational micro-grid at Bagram Air- field, Afghanistan. Micro-grids consist of “smart” generators that link with one another to intelligently manage the power supply and operate at peak efficiency.
The 1 megawatt (MW) micro-grid origi- nally displaced 13 60 kW TQGs with just four
larger sets, and an upgraded
distribution grid later displaced an addi- tional seven 60 kW TQGs. The system senses the amount of power required and
ACCORDING TO AN ESTIMATE PROVIDED BY THE ARMY G-4 OFFICE IN OCTOBER 2011, 18 PERCENT OF U.S.
CASUALTIES IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ WERE RELATED
TO GROUND
RESUPPLY, WITH MORE THAN 3,000 CASUALTIES OCCURRING IN RESUPPLY MISSIONS.
10 Army AL&T Magazine
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