HSGS-Ameresco LLC Celebrates Completion of $10.9M Water Resiliency Microgrid Project at White Sands Missile Range

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HSGS-Ameresco LLC Celebrates Completion of $10.9M Water Resiliency Microgrid Project at White Sands Missile Range

2025-03-17 20:07 Last Updated At：20:31

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 17, 2025--

Ameresco, Inc., (NYSE: AMRC), a leading energy solutions provider specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy, today announced the successful completion of the $10.9 million Water Resiliency Microgrid Project at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR). The ribbon-cutting ceremony, held on February 26, 2025, marked a significant milestone in WSMR's commitment to enhancing energy and water resiliency.

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This project which was designed and built by HSGS-Ameresco, LLC, a joint venture certified as a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) by the Small Business Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), delivers energy generation, smart controls, and building efficiency solutions to the VA and other Federal agencies nationwide.

The innovative microgrid system, which integrates a 700kW solar photovoltaic array, a 500kW natural gas generator, and a 500kW lithium-ion battery system, will provide backup power to four groundwater wells on the range. This helps WSMR maintain its critical missions without disruption, even during extended power outages.

The microgrid project aligns with the U.S. Army's requirement of sustaining water and power on for up to fourteen days without relying on civilian supplies. This self-sufficient energy system, designed to serve a specific geographic area, helps ensure that critical missions at WSMR can proceed without interruption. By guaranteeing the continuous supply of potable water to the main post, the microgrid highlights WSMR's dedication to maintaining operational readiness and integrating future construction projects with sustainable and resilient energy solutions.

“The project helps WSMR meet the U.S. Army’s requirement of 14-day energy and water independence for installations,” said Craig Collins, WSMR Installation Energy Manager. “We don’t have to worry about power outages affecting our water supply. We can keep pumping water even during power outages.”

Harnessing the power of advanced technology, the newly implemented microgrid at White Sands Missile Range integrates multiple energy sources to ensure a reliable and continuous power supply. The solar array captures energy from the sun during the day, while the natural gas generator provides a dependable backup power source. The lithium-ion battery system efficiently stores excess energy generated by the solar array and releases it when needed, helping to ensure an uninterrupted power supply. This entire system is managed by an advanced microgrid controller that optimizes energy production and distribution, balancing the load between the solar array, generator, and battery storage.

“This microgrid project is a great example of how innovative energy solutions can enhance the resilience and efficiency of critical infrastructure," said Nicole Bulgarino, President of Federal Solutions and Utility Infrastructure at Ameresco. " Our collaboration with White Sands Missile Range has resulted in a robust system that ensures continuous operation and supports the mission readiness of the installation. We are proud to contribute to a more sustainable and secure energy future."

“This would not be possible without our hard work and the collaboration of our partners, our contractors, planners and especially the Garrison DPW team and other key stakeholders,” said WSMR Garrison Commander Col. Donyeill Mozer. “Their dedication in making this project a reality ensures that White Sands Missile Range will have the infrastructure needed to support our current and future operations.”

“As an Army veteran every time I go to an Army base and work alongside fellow soldiers and contractors it feels like I am coming home,” said Dave McNeil, CEO/President of Hannah Solar Government Services-Ameresco, LLC. "I am really proud of the fact that our company is dedicated to providing energy security for America and especially for our Army and our military."

The successful implementation of the microgrid project at White Sands Missile Range highlights a strong commitment to innovation, sustainability, and collaboration. This project enhances energy resiliency and operational readiness, demonstrating how effective partnerships can address unique energy challenges. It contributes to a more sustainable and secure future for our nation's infrastructure.

To learn more about microgrid and energy security systems offered by Ameresco, visit https://www.ameresco.com/microgrid/

About Ameresco, Inc.

Founded in 2000, Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE: AMRC) is a leading energy solutions provider dedicated to helping customers reduce costs, enhance resilience, and decarbonize to net zero in the global energy transition. Our comprehensive portfolio includes implementing smart energy efficiency solutions, upgrading aging infrastructure, and developing, constructing, and operating distributed energy resources. As a trusted full-service partner, Ameresco shows the way by reducing energy use and delivering diversified generation solutions to Federal, state and local governments, utilities, educational and healthcare institutions, housing authorities, and commercial and industrial customers. Headquartered in Framingham, MA, Ameresco has more than 1,500 employees providing local expertise in North America and Europe. For more information, visit www.ameresco.com

About HSGS-Ameresco, Inc.

HSGS-Ameresco, LLC, a joint venture certified as a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) by the Small Business Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), delivers energy generation, smart controls, and building efficiency solutions to the VA and other Federal agencies nationwide. The HSGS-Ameresco team has extensive Federal contracting expertise, specializing in design-build services, energy savings performance contracts (ESPC), and Energy Supply Agreements (ESAs)/Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The company helps Federal agencies reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint, assure their missions, improve their energy security and resiliency postures, and meet and exceed statutory requirements regarding energy management and the sustainability of Federal facilities.

The announcement of completion of a customer’s project contract is not necessarily indicative of the timing or amount of revenue from such contract, of Ameresco’s overall revenue for any particular period or of trends in Ameresco’s overall total project backlog. Ameresco’s share of this project was included in Ameresco’s previously reported contracted backlog as of December 31, 2024.

Netanyahu says Israeli strikes across Gaza that killed hundreds are 'only the beginning'

2025-03-19 02:48 Last Updated At：02:51

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing more than 400 Palestinians, local health officials said, and shattering a ceasefire in place since January with its deadliest bombardment in a 17-month war with Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes, which killed mostly women and children, after Hamas refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement. In a statement aired on national television, he said the attack was “only the beginning” and that Israel would press ahead until it achieves all of its war aims — destroying Hamas and freeing all hostages held by the militant group.

All further ceasefire negotiations will take place “under fire,” he said. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel’s actions.

The Israeli military ordered people to evacuate eastern Gaza and head toward the center of the territory, indicating that Israel could soon launch renewed ground operations. The new campaign comes as aid groups warn supplies are running out two weeks after Israel cut off all food, medicine, fuel and other goods to Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians.

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” Netanyahu’s office said.

The attack during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan could signal the full resumption of a war that has already killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza. It also raised concerns about the fate of the roughly two dozen hostages held by Hamas who are believed to still be alive.

The renewal of the campaign against Hamas, which receives support from Iran, came as the U.S. and Israel stepped up attacks this week across the region. The U.S. launched deadly strikes against Iran-allied rebels in Yemen, while Israel has targeted Iran-backed militants in Lebanon and Syria.

A senior Hamas official said Netanyahu’s decision to return to war amounts to a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages. Izzat al-Risheq accused Netanyahu of launching the strikes to save his far-right governing coalition.

Hamas said at least six senior officials were killed in Tuesday’s strikes. Israel said they included the head of Hamas' civilian government, its justice minister and two security agency chiefs. There were no reports of any attacks by Hamas several hours after the bombardment.

But Yemen's Houthi rebels fired rockets toward Israel for the first time since the ceasefire began. The volley set off sirens in Israel's southern Negev desert but was intercepted before it reached the country's territory, the military said.

The strikes came as Netanyahu faces mounting domestic pressure, with mass protests planned over his handling of the hostage crisis and his decision to fire the head of Israel’s internal security agency. His latest testimony in a long-running corruption trial was canceled after the strikes.

The strikes appeared to give Netanyahu a political boost. A far-right party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir that had bolted the government over the ceasefire announced Tuesday it was rejoining.

The main group representing families of the hostages accused the government of backing out of the ceasefire. “We are shocked, angry and terrified by the deliberate dismantling of the process to return our loved ones from the terrible captivity of Hamas,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.

Strikes across Gaza pounded homes, sparked fires in a tent camp outside the southern city of Khan Younis and hit at least one school-turned-shelter.

After two months of relative calm during the ceasefire, stunned Palestinians found themselves once again digging loved ones out of rubble and holding funeral prayers over the dead at hospital morgues.

“Nobody wants to fight,” Nidal Alzaanin, a resident of Gaza City, said. “Everyone is still suffering from the previous months.”

A hit on a home in Rafah killed 17 members of one family, according to the European Hospital, which received the bodies. The dead included five children, their parents, and another father and his three children. Another in Gaza City killed 27 members of a family, half of them women and children, including a 1-year-old, according to a list of the dead put out by Palestinian medics.

At Khan Younis’s Nasser Hospital, patients lay on the floor, some screaming. A young girl cried as her bloody arm was bandaged. Wounded children overwhelmed the pediatric ward, said Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan, a volunteer with Medical Aid for Palestinians aid group.

She said she helped treat a 6-year-old girl with internal bleeding. When they pulled away her curly hair, they realized shrapnel had also penetrated the left side of her brain, leaving her paralyzed on the right side. She was brought in with no ID, and “we don't know if her family survived,” Haj-Hassan said.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the strikes killed at least 404 people and wounded more than 560. Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the ministry’s records department, said at least 263 of those killed were women or children under 18. He described it as the deadliest day in Gaza since the start of the war.

The war has killed over 48,500 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and displaced 90% of Gaza’s population. The Health Ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and militants but says over half of the dead have been women and children.

The war erupted when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. Most have been released in ceasefires or other deals, with Israeli forces rescuing only eight and recovering dozens of bodies.

The White House blamed Hamas for the renewed fighting. National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the militant group “could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war.”

The ceasefire deal that the U.S. helped broker, however, did not require Hamas to release more hostages to extend the halt in fighting beyond its first phase.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the unfolding operation, said Israel was striking Hamas’ military, leaders and infrastructure and planned to expand the operation beyond air attacks.

The official accused Hamas of attempting to rebuild and plan new attacks. Hamas militants and security forces quickly returned to the streets in recent weeks after the ceasefire went into effect. Hamas on Tuesday denied planning new attacks.

Under the ceasefire that began in mid-January, Hamas released 25 hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for more than 1,700 Palestinian prisoners as agreed in the first phase.

But Israel balked at entering negotiations over a second phase. Under the agreement, phase two was meant to bring the freeing of the remaining 24 living hostages, an end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israel says Hamas also holds the remains of 35 captives.

Instead, Israel demanded Hamas release half of the remaining hostages in return for a ceasefire extension and a vague promise to eventually negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas refused, demanding the two sides follow the original deal, which called for the halt in fighting to continue during negotiations over the second phase.

The deal had largely held, though Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military says approached its troops or entered unauthorized areas. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate the next steps.

Israel says it will not end the war until it destroys Hamas’ governing and military capabilities and frees all hostages — two goals that could be incompatible.

A full resumption of the war would allow Netanyahu to avoid the tough trade-offs called for in the second phase and the thorny question of who would govern Gaza.

It would also shore up his coalition, which depends on far-right lawmakers who want to depopulate Gaza and rebuild Jewish settlements there.

Released hostages have repeatedly implored the government to press ahead with the ceasefire to return all remaining captives. Tens of thousands of Israelis have joined protests calling for a ceasefire and return of all hostages.

Federman reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press reporters Mohammad Jahjouh in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip; Abdel Kareem Hana in Gaza City, Gaza Strip; Fatma Khaled in Cairo; and Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war