ESTCP
ESTCP is the DoD’s environmental, resilience, and installation energy and water technology demonstration and validation program.
ESTCP Strategy
The Program’s goal is to identify and demonstrate the most promising innovative and cost-effective technologies and methods that address DoD’s high-priority environmental, resilience, and installation energy and water requirements. Projects conduct formal demonstrations at DoD facilities and sites in operational settings to document and validate improved performance and cost savings. To ensure the demonstrated technologies have a real impact, ESTCP collaborates with end users and regulators throughout the development and execution of each demonstration. Transition challenges are overcome with rigorous and well-documented demonstrations that provide the information needed by all stakeholders for acceptance of the technology.
ESTCP Process
ESTCP issues an annual solicitation for proposals from the Federal government, academia, and industry and employs a competitive selection process to ensure that ESTCP funds high-quality demonstrations. ESTCP requires each project to develop a formal test and evaluation plan. Demonstration results are subject to rigorous technical reviews to ensure that the conclusions are accurate and well supported by data. As program goals and funding levels change, supplemental solicitations are occasionally necessary; these are announced on the web site and through the SERDP and ESTCP listserve.
Management Structure
ESTCP Directors and Staff – ESTCP is managed by a director and deputy director, five program managers, and a financial officer. The ESTCP office is co-located with SERDP in Alexandria, VA.
ESTCP Technical Committees – For each of the six technology program areas, an ESTCP Technical Committee (ETC) assists in identifying solicitation topics, reviews technical proposals, and formulates and recommends the annual program plan. Each committee conducts technical reviews of the ongoing projects and facilitates technology transfer according to the needs of the users in the field. ETC members represent the Services and service engineering centers. They bring a wealth of understanding of the needs of their organizations and also knowledge of related completed or ongoing research efforts. This knowledge helps ESTCP avoid duplication of effort and promotes joint and cooperative funding of projects. Many members of the ETC are also members of the SERDP Technical Committees. This relationship fosters communication between the Programs and promotes technology transfer.
ESTCP Program Areas – ESTCP projects are managed within six Program Areas. Those Program Areas are listed below.
Climate Resilience
The DoD is responding to climate change through climate adaptation by enhancing resilience to the effects of climate change and climate mitigation by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Climate Resilience program area supports this mission by identifying, demonstrating, and validating technologies that protect DoD infrastructure from climate change impacts. The main goals are to understand risks to installation infrastructure and global missions; facilitate climate-informed infrastructure projects; improve collaboration between installations and their communities to address climate risks; and ensure climate resilience training and exercising.
Environmental Restoration
The Environmental Restoration program area focuses on cleaning and managing contaminated lands on current and former military installations. It supports the development and demonstration of innovative technologies to characterize, remediate, and scientifically manage contaminants in soil, sediments, and ground, surface and waste water.
Installation Energy and Water
The Installation Energy and Water program area supports the demonstration of innovative technologies to reduce the DoD’s installation energy consumption and carbon footprint, improve energy security, and facilitate water conservation.
Munitions Response
The Munitions Response program area supports the development and demonstration of innovative technologies that can characterize, remediate, and scientifically manage sites affected by military munitions.
Resource Conservation and Resilience
The Resource Conservation and Resilience program area supports the development of the science, technologies, and methods needed to manage DoD’s installation infrastructure with the goal of maximizing the number of training days and mission readiness. Areas of investment include managing threatened, endangered, at-risk, and invasive species; improved wild land and beneficial fire management for test and training ranges, and enhancing the resilience of DoD infrastructure.
Weapons Systems and Platforms
The Weapons Systems and Platforms program area supports the development and demonstration of innovative technologies that enable the Department of Defense to: reduce or eliminate the use of hazardous materials in its production and maintenance processes; reduce hazardous waste streams; better understand and mitigate emissions and other environmental impacts that result from its operations; and ensure that alternative technologies, materials, and processes are adequately vetted from an environmental perspective.
