BY KATIE AIZON
Journal Staff
TUMON, Guam - The Society of American Military Engineers Guam Industry Forum brought military leaders, industry representatives, and government agencies together to discuss Guam’s role within the Indo-Pacific, including ongoing infrastructure developments and challenges.
Hundreds of attendees gathered at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort for the first day of the conference on July 29, participating in insightful panel discussions centered around Department of War initiatives, island-wide construction projects, and new technologies. Leaders from the Guam Power Authority, Guam Waterworks Authority, Port Authority of Guam, Department of Public Works, and A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam discussed collaborative efforts with DOW, sharing how critical infrastructure supports military defense capabilities.
Vincent P. Arriola, director of the Guam Department of Public Works, said reconstruction along Marine Corps Drive is underway to allow the military to transport materials and equipment weighing up to 200,000 pounds from Naval Base Guam to bases in the north, including Marine Corps Camp Blaz. “Part of my job is to make sure [Marine Corps Drive], a six-lane road with a middle lane median, stays safe, stays solid, and is fit for the type of transportation we are expecting with this military buildup,” he said.
Currently, Marine Corps Drive is unsuitable to accommodate the weight of materials, with five bridges only able to accommodate an estimated 80,000 to 90,000 pounds. However, Arriola said Phase 1 and Phase 2 projects are set to begin, increasing vehicle load capacity. According to Arriola, Phase 1 will reconstruct one northbound and southbound lane along Marine Corps Drive beginning from the north while Phase 2, pending additional funding, will repair five bridges along the southern end of the highway.
Regarding the A.B. Won Pat International Airport, John “JQ” M. Quinata, executive manager of the A.B. Won Pat International Airport Authority, said installing underground fuel lines remains of interest as a potential investment to support DOW with operations at the airport. “Whenever we’re going to have DOW assets that come to the airport and they go there. . .we’ll be able to support those planes with JP-8 fuel and we’ll have underground hydrants to come in and support those assets that are coming in where we won’t have to truck in the fuel,” Quinata said.
Other projects at the airport include planning to implement new technologies through a microgrid system. Airport representatives John J. Cruz Jr., assistant general manager of GPA and Frank Santos, consultant sat down with EXP representatives Brennan Sydor, principal, sustainable development and Dorukhan Goksedef, lead mechanical engineer-mission critical to address a need for resilient infrastructure at the airport.
During that panel discussion, Sydor described a microgrid as an independent “localized energy system” incorporating generators, solar panels, wind turbines, and modular reactors across a defined area connected to a main power grid. “At Guam International Airport EXP is doing a feasibility study for a microgrid. This materializes itself as typhoon resistant electrical infrastructure connecting to 30 megawatts of solar deviated array supported by 20 MW hours of battery,” Sydor said.
Cruz shared that a microgrid could also incorporate artificial intelligence to maintain power generation. “We’re setting up the technology for an AI based autonomous grid controller,” Cruz said. With instability throughout the system resulting from having more inverter-based resources, assistance from AI would be essential to controlling the grid, he said.
According to Santos, implementation of a microgrid for the airport would not be intended to completely segregate the airport or other organizations from the GPA grid, but to maintain operations even if main power is shut down. Goksedef said that while the airport would remain the main beneficiary of the project, a microgrid would also provide benefits for GPA and the entire island. “It’s not just a one-way thing but that’s why we want GPA to free up some of that peak demand and give that power to the island’s people or other industries and support them,” Goksedef said. mbj
Journal Staff
TUMON, Guam - The Society of American Military Engineers Guam Industry Forum brought military leaders, industry representatives, and government agencies together to discuss Guam’s role within the Indo-Pacific, including ongoing infrastructure developments and challenges.
Hundreds of attendees gathered at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort for the first day of the conference on July 29, participating in insightful panel discussions centered around Department of War initiatives, island-wide construction projects, and new technologies. Leaders from the Guam Power Authority, Guam Waterworks Authority, Port Authority of Guam, Department of Public Works, and A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam discussed collaborative efforts with DOW, sharing how critical infrastructure supports military defense capabilities.
Vincent P. Arriola, director of the Guam Department of Public Works, said reconstruction along Marine Corps Drive is underway to allow the military to transport materials and equipment weighing up to 200,000 pounds from Naval Base Guam to bases in the north, including Marine Corps Camp Blaz. “Part of my job is to make sure [Marine Corps Drive], a six-lane road with a middle lane median, stays safe, stays solid, and is fit for the type of transportation we are expecting with this military buildup,” he said.
Currently, Marine Corps Drive is unsuitable to accommodate the weight of materials, with five bridges only able to accommodate an estimated 80,000 to 90,000 pounds. However, Arriola said Phase 1 and Phase 2 projects are set to begin, increasing vehicle load capacity. According to Arriola, Phase 1 will reconstruct one northbound and southbound lane along Marine Corps Drive beginning from the north while Phase 2, pending additional funding, will repair five bridges along the southern end of the highway.
Regarding the A.B. Won Pat International Airport, John “JQ” M. Quinata, executive manager of the A.B. Won Pat International Airport Authority, said installing underground fuel lines remains of interest as a potential investment to support DOW with operations at the airport. “Whenever we’re going to have DOW assets that come to the airport and they go there. . .we’ll be able to support those planes with JP-8 fuel and we’ll have underground hydrants to come in and support those assets that are coming in where we won’t have to truck in the fuel,” Quinata said.
Other projects at the airport include planning to implement new technologies through a microgrid system. Airport representatives John J. Cruz Jr., assistant general manager of GPA and Frank Santos, consultant sat down with EXP representatives Brennan Sydor, principal, sustainable development and Dorukhan Goksedef, lead mechanical engineer-mission critical to address a need for resilient infrastructure at the airport.
During that panel discussion, Sydor described a microgrid as an independent “localized energy system” incorporating generators, solar panels, wind turbines, and modular reactors across a defined area connected to a main power grid. “At Guam International Airport EXP is doing a feasibility study for a microgrid. This materializes itself as typhoon resistant electrical infrastructure connecting to 30 megawatts of solar deviated array supported by 20 MW hours of battery,” Sydor said.
Cruz shared that a microgrid could also incorporate artificial intelligence to maintain power generation. “We’re setting up the technology for an AI based autonomous grid controller,” Cruz said. With instability throughout the system resulting from having more inverter-based resources, assistance from AI would be essential to controlling the grid, he said.
According to Santos, implementation of a microgrid for the airport would not be intended to completely segregate the airport or other organizations from the GPA grid, but to maintain operations even if main power is shut down. Goksedef said that while the airport would remain the main beneficiary of the project, a microgrid would also provide benefits for GPA and the entire island. “It’s not just a one-way thing but that’s why we want GPA to free up some of that peak demand and give that power to the island’s people or other industries and support them,” Goksedef said. mbj
