A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration for Energy Reliability and Security (SPIDERS)

The Cost Benefit Analysis of the Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration for Energy Reliability and Security SPIDERS at the Waste Water Treatment Plant WWTP located on Hickam AFB is a comprehensive analysis of the costs and benefits of an Energy Surety Microgrid ESM facility to the Navy. Along with the initial investment of 5.2M, the increase or decrease of standard financial metrics becomes apparent to the lifetime costs associated with SPIDERS. This thesis attempts to construct a viable understanding of the potential savings and Return On Investment ROI that could be achieved, and how the recoupment of investment will unfold based on combinations of potential savings. Congressional legislation and Executive orders dictate the increased consumption and production of renewable energy by federal agencies. SPIDERS presents a strategy toward achieving these mandates, and Hickam AFB is well on its way to capitalize on this strategy. This thesis estimates those costs and benefits based on available data and assumptions, with a very optimistic approach to savings. Those estimates are discounted for time and shown in FY12K. The thesis then conducts sensitivity analysis around potential variations in the data to explore changes to savings and ROI.