EnQuest delivers a hurricane-resistant battery storage microgrid for one of the most critical military installations in the United States.
In 2018, Tyndall Air Force Base suffered an estimated $4.7 billion in damages from Hurricane Michael, a category 5 storm. Power lines were downed, power was knocked out for days, and nearly 500 buildings were destroyed. In the aftermath, the Air Force announced a nearly $5 billion rebuild project to make the base an “installation of the future,” complete with its own microgrid that included a 150-kilowatt (kW) solar array and 450 kW, 2.5-hour battery.
To achieve the desired resilience, they needed to know the installation could withstand hurricane-force winds, high summer heat, and the region’s 60 inches of rainfall per year.
The experts turned to EnQuest for help.
What We Built
EnQuest started with the question: what does this enclosure need to survive?
The specification called for NEMA 3R battery enclosures with a cooling system capable of protecting battery performance in extreme heat and humidity. But the Air Force needed more than a compliant enclosure, they needed one that would survive a direct hurricane hit.
EnQuest conducted a thorough structural finite element analysis to verify that the installation could withstand hurricane-force winds up to 165 mph. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was run in parallel as part of the design process to optimize thermal performance and confirm that the cooling system would protect the batteries under Florida's peak summer heat loads.
The thermal management design addressed one of the most common and least visible failure modes in battery storage: capacity fade driven by heat. Without precise thermal control, batteries discharge faster than engineered, shorten their cycle life, and erode the economics of the entire system. EnQuest's CFD-validated design eliminated that risk before a single enclosure was built.
During manufacturing, the team developed new construction techniques to fabricate composite enclosure walls from carbon fiberglass, aluminum, sheet metal, and insulation, then performed extensive testing of fixtures, jigs, and every component assembly before final build.
The custom cooling system was also designed and integrated to mitigate high-temperature discharge — the condition that can damage battery cells, accelerate degradation, and in extreme cases, create a fire hazard. Third-party consultants were engaged to validate compliance with rigorous fire, UL, and site standards.
Every enclosure was built in-house at EnQuest's Houston facility and shipped directly to the site, ready for installation. No concrete pad required.
The Results
165 mph wind resistance: verified by structural finite element analysis. The enclosures are engineered to survive the Category 5 conditions that destroyed the base in 2018.
$13 million in assets protected: The microgrid provides backup power and redundancy for the base's most mission-critical facilities, ensuring operational continuity when the grid goes down.
5,256 MWh annual demand served: The system handles the base's full annual storage demand, integrated with 130 kW of solar and a 400 kW, 2.5-hour battery capacity.
Zero concrete foundations: EnQuest's galvanized steel skid base design eliminated the need for concrete pad preparation, reducing site complexity, cost, and installation time.
Future-expandable by design: The microgrid was engineered so the Air Force and the local utility can expand it at any time. When the call comes, EnQuest is ready to produce additional enclosures to the same standard.
What This Means
Tyndall Air Force Base will never again go completely dark due to power loss. Power to mission-critical facilities, the installations that keep Air Force servicemembers operational, is protected, regardless of what the weather does.
The broader implication is straightforward: when the most demanding infrastructure buyer in the country needs battery storage that has to perform in the worst possible conditions, they need an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) who can engineer to that spec, not just manufacture to a datasheet.
EnQuest engineered the enclosures, validated the thermal design, fabricated every component in-house, and delivered a system that holds up to 165 mph winds, 60 inches of annual rainfall, and the scrutiny of a $5 billion federal rebuild project.
That's what it means to build for the work that can't stop.
Engineered and manufactured by EnQuest Energy Solutions, Houston, TX. ISO 9001:2015 certified.