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  • Number 437  |
  • April 20, 2015

PE-licensed engineer takes sustainability worldwide

Colton Heaps of DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Colton Heaps of DOE's
National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Colton Heaps of DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory is just one of the latest class of Professional Engineers (PEs) at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). And, he’s been around the world, from Alaska to Afghanistan, helping soldiers and indigenous peoples save energy while saving taxpayer dollars.

Nationwide, about 20% of engineers earn their PE license, gained only after several years of work under the eyes of a veteran engineer, studying for hundreds of hours, and passing a series of two grueling eight-hour tests.

"We completely missed the beautiful Colorado fall," recalled NREL's Colton Heaps, of the seven consecutive Saturdays the aspirants for the PE license spent at all-day review courses in preparation for the test.

The PE license is required to sign off on engineering designs, but it also helps ensure that the candidates who work for years under the watch of veteran engineers develop the thoroughness and ethics essential for the profession. At NREL, engineers don't sign off on designs, because that's a task for the private sector.

Heaps came to NREL three years ago after earning his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the U.S. Air Force Academy and serving several years in the Air Force. While in the Air Force, he earned a master's in public policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and worked on sustainability for bases in the Middle East.

Heaps found his public policy degree was nearly as valuable as his engineering degree when making the argument in favor of energy sustainability. He brings engineering experience but also financial analysis to projects "to make sure they're viable and justified by the economics."

"It's not enough to tell the base leaders that making changes will save energy," Heaps said. The mission comes first in the military, so officers are reluctant to cut corners when it comes to the effectiveness of their tactics and strategy, he said. So, he makes the argument that saving energy will give them the leeway to make their military capability even stronger.

"It has the potential to save them a lot of money, as well as saving a lot of money for the U.S. taxpayer," Heaps said. Most crucially, every efficiency improvement means fewer dangerous truck rides to deliver diesel fuel to military bases in war-torn regions. "There's a real human cost to that," Heaps said, noting the high fatality rate among drivers hauling diesel fuel to bases. "Every gallon that's saved … well, it's impossible to monetize the benefit."

In a recent project, Heaps helped a small village in Alaska that wanted to put in a biomass wood boiler to heat several buildings; he provided feedback on the design and an analysis of the finances. Heaps also manages the Strategic Technical Assistance Response Team (START) program at NREL that works with the Office of Indian Energy to help bring sustainable energy projects to Native American communities. For example, the San Carlos Apaches in Arizona hope to erect a megawatt of PV panels to help power their casino and resort complex.

In Kuwait, the power for U.S. military bases is supplied by the Kuwaiti government, so the incentives aren't strong to save energy. The problem is compounded because the energy demand is modest in the winter when the temperatures hover in the 50s and 60s, but enormous in the summer when air conditioning needs to be cranked up to counter ambient temperatures that can reach 130°F, and the humidity can fluctuate from 10% to 90%. Still, using his engineering and public policy strengths, Heaps has made headway.

"I think we're doing important work," Heaps said. "Energy efficiency and renewable energy are so important, and we can't avoid the reality any longer. The infrastructure in the United States and in the rest of the world is growing at such a pace that our sources of traditional energy just can't keep up with it. Global warming aside, we're going to have to have to do things more efficiently and find alternative sources of energy. And then when you throw in the whole climate change debate, it just becomes much more of an imperative that we get serious about this problem we face."

The United States, Heaps said, "has a real opportunity to lead on that front, to forge the way ahead for a new energy economy for the world."

Learn more about NREL's buildings research. — Bill Scanlon

Submitted by DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory