Net Zero Energy Strategic Planning Principles: Israeli Air Force 2025

Concerns over ageing infrastructure, energy insecurity, and rising energy costs have led to global efforts encouraging energy independence in large organizations. For the Israeli Air Force, one of the largest organizations in Israel, a reliable energy supply is vital to ensuring operational continuity for its many military installations. This continuity is crucial both for day- to-day base functioning including office lighting and air conditioning, lodging amenities, etc., as well as for performance during emergency situations in wartime.

The United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL), “Net Zero Energy Military Installations: A Guide to Assessment and Planning” outlines a methodology by which military installations can systematically assess Net Zero Energy (NZE) feasibility (Booth, et al., 2010). Net Zero Energy infrastructure (buildings or multi-building campuses) generate at least as much on-site renewable energy as they consume over the course of a typical year. The NREL methodology defines stages for holistic Net Zero Energy program evaluation specific to the needs and constraints of military installations.

In this work, we tested the NREL’s methodology’s adaptability and relevance to an IAF case study base, and identified potential impediments to NZE implementation. The research methods, while based on the NREL Assessment and Guide, follow six main stages; Project Initiation, Data Collection, Energy Reduction Estimates, Renewable Energy Estimates, Comparison to Business as Usual, and Policy Recommendations. A focus on NZE planning aligns energy efficiency and renewable energy goals into one cohesive vision in a way that can help large organizations, which have control over both consumption and generation facilities, make long term energy goals a reality.

This research shows the overall successful application of the NREL Methodology to a military installation located and run by an army different than originally intended. The research shows that the NREL Methodology is ready to be used as a holistic framework for addressing rising IAF energy spending and wasteful consumption, due in major part to the current IAF structure, department hierarchy, and previous energy efficiency and renewable energy project experience. The main pitfall of the NREL methodology as applied to the IAF case study base is the lack of accurate data as well as decision making drivers based purely on economic – and not energy security nor environmental – incentives.