Northrop Grumman – Erin Williamson – 2015

Goals

Northrop Grumman Corporation, a leading global security company headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, hosted Erin Williamson, a 2015 EDF Climate Corps fellow, to develop an enterprise information management tool to analyze opportunities for on-site renewable energy systems. Renewable and alternative energy generation presents an opportunity for Northrop Grumman to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The company’s current objective is to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emission 30 percent from 2010 levels. Williamson’s task was to develop a robust and comprehensive tool to standardize the process for evaluating the financial, environmental and risk impacts of a renewable and/or alternative energy installation and providing a basis for an actionable recommendation at any Northrop Grumman facility.

Solutions

Williamson reviewed the evaluation process and quantitative analysis framework that had previously been developed to make a recommendation on several on-site renewable energy projects in support of the greeNG 2.0 goals. She also collaborated with employees who have energy management responsibilities and expertise. She developed a methodology to further improve the methodology, ultimately developing a comprehensive tool that incorporates company priorities when evaluating renewable and alternative energy projects. Input from company subject matter experts and leadership informed the priorities that Northrop Grumman decision-makers would identify when evaluating capital projects. The tool will be rolled out enterprise-wide as the standardized method by which renewable and alternative energy systems will be evaluated for implementation.

Potential Impact

The analytical tool has the capability to provide decision-makers across the enterprise with an integrated financial, environmental and risk assessment for renewable energy projects at any Northrop Grumman facility, in a streamlined manner that captures institutional knowledge of the process and individual project assessments. The intent of the project is to codify the process of analyzing the business and environmental case for renewable and alternative energy opportunities, in support of the company’s commitment to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions and supporting the operational and sustainability goals of its customers.