Analysis of Energy Efficiencies and Source Tradespace in an A2/Ad Seabase-to-Shore Operation With an Asymmetric Threat

This capstone project supported the mission of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) Expeditionary Energy Office (E2O) for development and assessment of solutions that increase the energy efficiency of USMC operations in an antiaccess/area denial (A2/AD) mission. Primarily, this study analyzed energy efficiency during USMC seabase-to-shore operations by developing an operational model to determine the best combination of connectors among all feasible combinations within the selected seabase. This capstone concluded that mission objectives for throughput and fuel consumption during operations could not be met in all scenarios by all connector combinations, and identified why certain combinations of connectors had better broad utility and operational effectiveness. The secondary objective of this study was the exploration of new and alternative energy generation methods that are employable by the USMC, which maximize energy efficiency of Marine air-ground task force (MAGTF) operations at the shore site. Evaluation criteria were used to investigate feasible alternative energy sources that could support the power generation of the MAGTF operations. This capstone concluded that alternative energy technologies, when combined with diesel-electric generators, helped reduce fuel consumption of the MAGTF operations, and identified their availability and effectiveness for meeting energy goals.