Press Releases

NNSA NEWS

U.S. Department of Energy
National Nuclear Security Administration
Production Office News Release

Amarillo, TX -- Employees of the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office (NPO) have donated 17,348 pounds of food as part of the annual U.S. Department of Energy’s “Feds Feed Families” campaign. The campaign, which ended on September 6, surpassed the goal of 17,000 pounds.

“I am extremely proud and moved by the generosity of NPO employees,” said Steve Erhart, NNSA Production Office Manager. “Each year, the Feds Feed Families food drive reminds us there are people in our own communities who go to bed hungry. Serving our country starts at home, and that is what this effort is all about.”

The NPO donations are supporting the efforts of the High Plains Food Bank, Amarillo, Texas, and the Second Harvest Food Bank, Maryville, Tennessee.

The Feds Feed Families campaign is a voluntary effort undertaken by Federal employees across the country to provide non-perishable food items to local food banks. Since the start of this effort five years ago, Federal employees have donated over 15 million pounds of food to support families across America. Every month, local food banks help thousands of people, including elderly, handicapped individuals and children. During the summer, the numbers swell to include school children who no longer have access to free breakfast and lunches.

“Donations from this year’s Feds Feed Families Campaign have already touched many lives throughout the Texas Panhandle,” said Broc Carter, High Plains Food Bank Director of Communications, ”and we appreciate the generosity and continued support of the NNSA Production Office employees. Their generous donations are shared with our partnering organizations including churches, day care facilities, and senior citizen’s centers.”

“We are extremely grateful to the NNSA Production Office for their large donations of food, especially during the summer months because this is the leanest time of the year for us,” said Elaine Streno, Second Harvest Food Bank Executive Director. “We are also grateful that their effort is bringing awareness to the hunger struggle in our community and across East Tennessee.”

The mission of the NNSA Production Office is to ensure the safe, secure and cost-effective operation of the Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Photos available upon request

CONTACT
Brenda Finley
NNSA Production Office Public Affairs
Office (806) 477-3120

Steven Wyatt
NNSA Production Office Public Affairs
Office (865) 576-9918

Largest federally owned wind farm to help weapons facility meet Administration energy goals

Construction officially begins Tuesday on the Pantex Renewable Energy Project, which will use the energy stored in Texas Panhandle winds to help power one of the key facilities in the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons complex.

The project, known as PREP, will provide more than half of the annual electricity needs for the Pantex Plant when it goes live in approximately one year, and will be the largest federally owned wind farm in the country upon completion.

Officials from NNSA, Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and project contractor Siemens Government Technologies, Inc., will gather at the plant today to break ground on the project.

The wind farm will consist of five 2.3 megawatt turbines located on 1,500 acres of land east of the Pantex Plant. Pantex is the primary site for the assembly, disassembly and maintenance of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.

PREP will be a one-of-a-kind project that joins the national security mission of the NNSA with DOE’s mission to secure the country’s energy future through use of renewable energy sources. The windfarm will play a key role in helping Pantex achieve President Obama’s directive that the federal government lead the way in clean energy and energy efficiency. The Administration set a goal for the federal government to get 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

PREP will generate approximately 47 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which is more than 60 percent of the annual electricity need for Pantex, or enough electricity to power nearly 3,500 homes. The project will reduce CO2 emissions by over 35,000 metric tons per year; the equivalent of removing 7,200 cars from the road each year or planting 850,000 trees.

Siemens will construct PREP under an Energy Savings Performance Contract, delivering a turn-key wind farm system with an annual energy production guarantee for 18 years. Siemens will be paid directly from the value of guaranteed energy savings generated by the turbines, an amount expected to average $2.8 million annually.

The project has been in development for more than five years and relied on partnerships with numerous other entities, including Texas Tech University and the Federal Aviation Administration, which helped secure approval for siting the 400-foot tall wind towers in the controlled airspace near Pantex. The EPA was also a key contributor, partnering with Pantex to help continue a long tradition of environmental stewardship at the Plant.

Construction is expected to last until July 2014, when the blades of the project will start spinning in the strong Panhandle wind, delivering renewable energy to the Pantex Plant.

The PREP groundbreaking will start at 10 a.m. August 13 at the Pantex Plant, located 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, Texas; north of U.S. Highway 60 on Farm-to-Market Road 2373.

Media wishing to cover the event should first contact Brenda Finley at the numbers above. You should plan to arrive by 9:30 a.m. CST at the 16-12 Visitor’s Service Building north of the main gate on FM 2373. Transportation will be provided to the groundbreaking site. A variety of background visuals will be available for photo and video. Interviews with top officials from DOE, NNSA and Siemens will also be available.

Pantex biologist, Canadian scientist to study birds this weekend

Pantex wildlife biologist Jim Ray will be teaming up with York University researcher Dr. Kevin Fraser from Toronto this weekend to help study the movements and behaviors of Purple Martins.

Ray, Fraser and several volunteers will be capturing the Martins, which are the largest member of the swallow family in North America, and affixing small geolocator tracking devices to help expand scientific knowledge about the birds. The geolocators were provided by the Department of Energy and Pantex in connection with a Presidential directive to help study and preserve migratory birds.

“Purple Martins are declining in some areas of the United States, and it is critical we continue to learn about their year-round needs and protect them,” said Ray, who studies a variety of wildlife species in his work at Pantex.

Ray said Purple Martins have been popular among bird watchers since early settlers found Native Americans providing the birds with living quarters in hollowed-out gourds. Providing birdhouses has been a popular pastime for birders ever since.

“I’ve been fascinated by Purple Martins since I was exposed to them when I went to graduate school in South Dakota,” Ray said. “Although I have been studying and promoting them for 25 years, it took me 16 years to attract my first nesting pair.”

Martin aficionados like Ray place specially constructed bird houses in their yards. Ray, who along with Fraser holds a permit to capture the birds, has banded more than 10,000 Purple Martins. Since 2007, geolocators – which weigh 1.5 grams and estimate the location of the birds by recording sunrise and sunset times – have expanded the scientific knowledge of the birds’ movements. Researchers discovered the small birds spend up to a month and a half flying south to Brazil in the fall, but return north to their U.S. breeding colonies in only two weeks during spring.

The Purple Martin Conservation Association (www.purplemartin.org) supports geolocator efforts like the one this weekend.
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CONTACT
Greg Cunningham
Public Affairs
Office (806) 477-5140
Pager (806) 345-1560

Area middle schoolers work to build renewable energy vehicles

A record number of middle school teams will gather Saturday to put their engineering and building skills to the test at the annual B&W Pantex Electric Battery Car Race.

The race, which is part of the National Science Bowl, will pit 29 teams of car builders against each other in a competition to build the fastest battery powered car. The event challenges students to use scientific knowledge, creative thinking, experimentation and teamwork to design and build a car powered by renewable energy.

Each year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sponsors the car races, with different types of propulsion chosen for the cars. In prior years, the cars were powered by solar power or Hydrogen fuel cells. This year, DOE chose electric battery cars. Teams were given kits a month ago to assemble into the fastest, most stylish car they can create.

“This is always an exciting, enjoyable event for our area middle schools,” said race coordinator Debra Halliday. “It’s a fun and exciting way for us to encourage a new generation of inventors and engineers.”

The races start at 9 a.m. Saturday in the Tascosa High School cafeteria. Each race will feature four cars running down a 20-meter track, as well as a competition for car design, craftsmanship, creativity and the most appealing design.

All Amarillo media is invited to attend the races, which will run through the morning, with a pause for lunch from 11 a.m. to noon. The finals will take place after lunch and should be concluded by 12:30 p.m. Interviews with race organizers, coaches and students will be available.

Engineering workshop for Girl Scouts gaining popularity

A group of female engineers from Pantex are working to develop a Girl Scout cookie of a different sort: a Smart Cookie.

The Smart Cookie program started in January with a half dozen young women engineers from Pantex who decided to pass on their love of engineering to the next generation with a workshop for Girl Scouts. The program has taken off in the intervening months, with more engineers and more Girl Scouts coming together for a workshop sequel this weekend.

“The response to the first event has just been phenomenal,” said Savannah Gates, a process engineer at Pantex who helped start the program. “We thought there were a lot of girls out there who would be interested in engineering if they just had a little encouragement. It’s extremely gratifying to find so many girls showing an interest.”

The number of women engineers who are involved in the project has doubled, and a much larger group of Girl Scouts is expected at the workshop this weekend.

Gates said the workshop will teach engineering principles with a pair of projects. In the first, hard candies and diet soda will make an effective, if messy, demonstration of propulsion concepts. The second half of the workshop will show what it’s like for an engineer to work on a real project, with the girls building structures that must meet height and load bearing standards, all while staying on budget.

The future for the program looks bright, with plans underway to enlist experts from Pantex in areas as diverse as math, science and information technology, for future events with the Girl Scouts.

All Amarillo media is welcome to cover the workshop, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Girl Scouts headquarters, 6011 SW 45th Ave. Interviews with engineers and Girl Scouts will be available.

Program accomplished much at plant over 11 years

After more than a decade of work and an investment of $246 million in transforming the Pantex Plant, the Facilities and Infrastructure Recapitalization Program (FIRP) is drawing to a close. New, gleaming white roofs dot the plant, new fire alarm systems protect facilities and upgraded utility systems help to ensure that Pantex can continue to fulfill its critical national security mission.

As FIRP winds down this month, officials with the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Pantex Plant are reflecting on the successes of the program, which has helped to rehabilitate buildings dating back to the 1940s at sites across the country.

"Investing in the revitalization of our infrastructure is a critically important step as we move forward in maintaining our nation's nuclear deterrent, said Johnnie Guelker, Deputy Assistant Manager for Programs & Projects. “The FIRP has been a huge success. The investment made through the program will be paying dividends for decades to come through increased reliability in our operations."

The FIRP was established in 2002 with a mission to restore, rebuild and revitalize the physical infrastructure of the Nuclear Security Enterprise through the reduction of deferred maintenance that was impacting the operational efficiency and effectiveness of the enterprise.

Pantex took advantage of the program to help sustain dozens of buildings at the plant including some that stretched back to World War II. The most visible success of FIRP at Pantex is the roof replacement program. Many of the decades-old roofs at the plant leaked regularly and heavy rains impacted critical weapons work. While replacing the roofs through FIRP Pantex took the opportunity to install energy efficient roofing including “Cool Roofs” which reflect the sun’s rays and reduce energy usage, resulting in an energy savings of approximately 70 percent.

Other FIRP projects included replacement of obsolete fire alarm panels, upgrades to radio capabilities, construction of a record storage facility and upgrades to gas and electrical distribution systems. Five new facilities totaling 71,000 square feet were constructed under FIRP, replacing older facilities that were later demolished.
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CONTACT
Greg Cunningham
Public Affairs
Office (806) 477-5140
Pager (806) 345-1560

Teams from as far away as Lubbock, Higgins to compete for regional title

The stakes will be higher and the questions even tougher Saturday as the high school round of the annual B&W Pantex Science Bowl competition kicks off.

More than 150 students will converge on West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) for the competition, where 32 teams from schools across the Texas Panhandle and High Plains will go head-to-head in a competition that will thoroughly test their knowledge of math and science.

“February is such an exciting time of year for us,” said Debra Halliday, Science Bowl coordinator. “It’s very gratifying to be able to encourage a love of math and science in so many of these amazing students.”

Around 150 Pantex employees and community volunteers will be on hand to help run the Science Bowl. The competition features teams of four students answering science and math questions in a Jeopardy-style round-robin format, followed by a double elimination tournament after lunch. The winner of Saturday’s event will be eligible to travel to Washington in April to compete with scores of other teams from across the U.S. for the national title. Last year, Amarillo High School won the regional competition and tested their knowledge in Washington D.C.

Media is invited to attend the Science Bowl from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday on the fourth floor of the Classroom Center at WTAMU Media will be able to film or photograph the competition, and interviews with contestants will be available. The official Twitter Hashtag for the event will be #PXSB
In addition to bragging rights and a shot at the national title, the winning team will earn $1,000 for its school’s science program, with $500 and $250 going to the second and third place schools.

This year, the Education Credit Union has joined the U.S. Department of Energy, Pantex and WTAMU in sponsoring the event.

The high school round is the second phase of the Science Bowl competition. A team from Dumas Junior High School won the middle school competition February 9.

Schools participating in this year’s Pantex High School Science Bowl are:

• Amarillo Area Center for Advanced Learning
• Amarillo High School
• Bovina High School
• Canyon High School
• Caprock High School
• Clarendon High School
• Coronado High School (Lubbock)
• Friona High School
• Higgins ISD
• Highland Park High School
• Holy Cross Catholic Academy
• Lazbuddie High School
• Lubbock High School
• Nazareth High School
• New Home ISD
• Palo Duro High School
• Panhandle High School
• Randall High School
• River Road High School
• Tascosa High School
• West Texas High School (Stinnett)

CONTACT
Greg Cunningham
Public Affairs
Office (806) 477-5140
Pager (806) 345-1560

Middle schoolers up first in academic competition

More than 30 teams of middle school students from across the area will converge on West Texas A&M University Saturday for a competition that will test their mental mettle.

The students, who hail from 15 schools across the Panhandle, have been preparing for months to compete in the Science Bowl competition, which challenges students to answer questions in math and science for prizes, prestige and the right to represent the area at the national competition in Washington, D.C.

Pantex has sponsored the bowl for more than 20 years in hopes of fostering a love of science and math in the youth of the Texas Panhandle.

“This is one of our favorite times of the year, when we get to see so many talented and dedicated youngsters compete in Science Bowl,” said Debra Halliday, science bowl coordinator. “These are the students who will make up the next generation of engineers and scientists, so it’s important we foster a love of learning in them.”

More than 100 Pantex employees and community volunteers will be on hand to help run the Science Bowl. The competition features teams of four students answering science and math questions in a round-robin format, followed by a double elimination round after lunch. The winner of Saturday’s event will be eligible to travel to Washington to compete with dozens of other teams from across the U.S. for the national title.

This year, the Education Credit Union has joined B&W Pantex in sponsoring the event.

Media is invited to attend the Science Bowl starting at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the Classroom Center at West Texas A&M University. Media will be able to film or photograph the competition, and interviews with contestants and volunteers will be available. Please come to room 401 and ask for Greg Cunningham. The competition will run from 12:30 p.m. through the final round, which starts at 4 p.m., followed by an awards ceremony. The official Twitter Hashtag for the event will be #PXSB.

In addition to bragging rights and a shot at the national title, the winning team will earn $1,000 for its school’s science program, with $500 and $250 going to the second and third place schools. Last year, Canyon Junior High School won the regional competition.

Schools participating in this year’s Pantex Middle School Science Bowl are:

Bonham Middle School
Bovina Middle School
Bushland Middle School
Canyon Junior High School
Clarendon Junior High School
Dumas Junior High School
Friona Junior High School
Hartley School
Higgins Junior High School
Highland Park Middle School
Lazbuddie Junior High School
Lorenzo De Zavala Middle School
Panhandle Junior High School
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School

Work with migratory birds nets U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service award nomination

For the second year in a row, the Pantex Plant was nominated by the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration for an award in recognition of its efforts to research and protect migratory birds.

Pantex will represent the DOE/NNSA in the competition for the 2013 Presidential Migratory Bird Federal Stewardship Award, which has been administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 2011. Each federal agency is eligible to nominate one project or action conducted by or in partnership with a federal agency that meets the intent and spirit of Executive Order 13186 by focusing on migratory bird conservation.

“We were honored to be selected last year, but to be picked two years in a row is very gratifying,” said Kenneth A. Hoar, assistant manager for Environment, Safety and Health with the NNSA Production Office (NPO). “We are proud to represent the DOE and NNSA in this competition and proud that our migratory bird conservation efforts have been recognized through this nomination.”

The site’s work to research and protect migratory birds began to evolve in 2002, and over the years has included efforts involving Western Burrowing Owls, Purple Martins and migratory birds that may be affected by wind energy development. Work is proposed and coordinated by James D. Ray, Pantex Plant wildlife biologist, with support from NPO.

Since 2002, more than 8,500 nestling martins have been banded throughout northwest Texas and western Oklahoma under the program. In 2008, protective devices were installed on 500 new utility poles at Pantex to help protect raptors from electrocution.

Much of the research was performed through contracted collaboration with Texas Tech University, the United States Geological Survey’s Texas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and West Texas A&M University (WTAMU).

Currently, a multifaceted project is evaluating the effects of wind energy development on migratory birds. This program includes a contract with WTAMU and has resulted in the development of a comprehensive literature review on the impacts of wind energy on wildlife, and the initiation of pre- and post-turbine monitoring of migratory birds. This project also involves surveys of plots for wintering and migrating raptors, surveys of plots in different habitat types during the breeding season for birds and nests, along with radio and satellite tracking of Swainson’s hawks.

Taken together, the different actions involved in the Migratory Bird Program present a picture of a site that is dedicated to going beyond the minimum federal mandates of migratory birds.

“At Pantex, we have an abiding respect for the environment and recognize our obligation to protect it,” said Jim Stevens, division manager for the Environment, Safety, Health & Quality Division at B&W Pantex.
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CONTACT
Greg Cunningham
Public Affairs
Office (806) 477-5140
Pager (806) 345-1560

NNSA NEWS

U.S. Department of Energy
National Nuclear Security Administration
Production Office News Release

AMARILLO, Texas - The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has awarded a contract to Siemens Government Technologies, Inc. (Siemens) to construct and operate the Federal government’s largest wind farm. The Pantex wind farm, a first in the NNSA enterprise, will consist of five 2.3 megawatt turbines located on 1,500 acres of government-owned property east of the Pantex Plant.

Energy savings from the wind farm average $2.9 million annually over a 20-year contract term and the project will enable Pantex to meet the President’s energy initiatives for green energy. In fact, the wind farm at Pantex will allow NNSA to meet almost all of its renewable energy goals while also offering unique research opportunities to longtime partner in education, Texas Tech University and its research collaborators. The farm will generate approximately 45 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually which is greater than 60% of Pantex’s annual electricity needs.

Steve Erhart, Manager, NNSA Production Office said, “Three years of hard work, dedication and determination have paid off. The NNSA’s goal was to turn Texas wind into energy, and we have overcome numerous hurdles in implementing the contracting strategy.”

Using an Energy Savings Performance Contract, Siemens will provide a turn-key wind farm system for 20 years that includes a five-year service, maintenance, and warranty agreement with operating and maintenance options from years six through ten. Siemens will also provide an annual energy production guarantee. The government payment to them will come directly from the value of guaranteed energy savings generated from the Pantex wind farm.

Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; works to reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad.
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CONTACT
Brenda Finley
NNSA Production Office Public Affairs
Office (806) 477-3120