Fort Knox, Kentucky

This project consisted of designing and installing multiple Slim Jim exchangers within a man-made pond designed to hold the units.

The new geothermal system conserves an estimated 4,204,800 gallons of potable water per year at full load run time!
FortKnox-8

PROJECT OVERVIEW

2,000 Ton Cooling Tower with (2) 100 Ton HR Assemblies as 1st Stage.

Located near Louisville, Kentucky, Fort Knox is home to the U.S. Army’s Armor Center, Armor School, Recruiting Command, and numerous other facilities.

"Fort Knox has been a pioneer in green energy, with efforts that even predate the Energy Policy Act of 1992, which set a target for federal agencies to improve energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2000. Those efforts have included the kinds of successes and setbacks that tend to accompany pioneering work."

In 2012, Fort Knox received a $1.2 million grant to install a geothermal pond to heat and cools the post’s largest facility. Read More

That led to the AWeb Supply team of contractors providing the base with the equipment and expertise to install a holistic geothermal lake plate solution.

According to Fort Knox Director of Public Works Pat Walsh, the energy team swapped out aging HVAC systems for geothermal technology, which draws heat from the ground in the winter and pushes it back into the ground during summer.

Over several years, Fort Knox replaced approximately 70 percent of the existing Disney Barracks heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems with geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), taking advantage of renewable energy resources. More than 60 percent of total Fort Knox facility square footage, or more than six million square feet, is served by automated geothermal heating and cooling. Additional ground coupled heat pumps are installed in privatized housing.

Today, with hundreds of 500-foot wells and nearly 600 miles of underground pipes, the post uses geothermal to heat and cool 6 million square feet across 109,000 acres.

Media Coverage of the Fort Knox Geothermal Energy Program

Twenty years of energy investments pay off for Fort Knox

By Capt. Jo Smoke, Fort Knox Public Affairs

"Fort Knox is considered to have set the gold standard across the military for its accomplishments in harvesting renewable power."

Federal Applications of Renewable Energy

U.S. Army Fort Knox: Using the Earth for Space Heating and Cooling

A U.S. Department of the Energy summary of the Fort Knox geothermal project and its positive environmental effects.

 

PROJECT IMAGE GALLERY

    Please select the model of the sizing requested

    You will receive the following attachments in an email for your information:

    • Installation Requirements Info Sheet

    • Project Information Sheet – (For Slim Jim® and Geo Lake Plate® Exchanger Sizing, please complete this document and return to AWEB Supply)

    • Slim Jim® Geo Lake Plate Packet

    • Additional Details of Your Project