The US National Security Agency has requested tens of millions of dollars for a power and cooling infrastructure upgrade for its IT facilities at RAF Menwith Hill in Yorkshire, U.K.

According to a FY2010 budget estimate for military construction projects, the agency requested around $37.6 million to be allocated for new transformers, switchgear and water chillers for its base at the Royal Air Force site. Upgrades are needed to continue the base's expanding war-fighter support mission.

Improvements include a new chilled-water distribution system, water piping improvements, new pumps and increased redundancy. The agency said failure to upgrade the facilities would impact future missions with some being halted altogether or downgraded.
The budget funding request said "The chilled water systems, which cool the mission equipment, can no longer supply cooling to the new racks being built today. The chilled water distribution network needs upgrading. Pumps must be replaced and chiller power needs additional redundancies built in."

While the systems have adequate chiller capacity, the distribution system is "outdated" and "inefficient." Electrical systems are said to be at risk of "many single points of failure."
According to the budget estimate, the base's power demand will exceed its primary electrical service's capacity by FY2012

The project includes installation of a new 30 MVA transformer and switchgear modifications to allow the main base substation and distribution substations to handle expanded capacity.

The NSA said "Upgrades include, but not limited to, a new 30MVA tranformer at the main base substation, switchgear, modifications to the existing main base substation and distribution substations to permit an expanded SCADA control/metering/status monitoring system, and modifications to Menwith Hill's electrical distribution system to permit synchronizing the incoming commercial power supply with the emergency generator plant located on RAF Menwith Hill.

The new transformer will provide N+1 redunancy as well as the ability to handle any future increase in power capacity.

Currently, power to the base is being supplied by a 15 MVA feed from Harrogate and a 12 MVA backup feed from Wormald Green. There are also emergency generators on site. The NSA document said: "The backup feed provides power (with appropirate load shedding) should the primary 15MVA power be lost or when maintenance needs to be performed. Emergency generators are available should the commercial power feed fail. Menwith Hill's electrical load continues to increase in support of current mission activities. Future mission deployments are projected to exceed current electrical capacities within three years. The chilled water systems have adequate chiller capacity, but are limited by outdated, inefficient distribution and delivery infrastructure. There are many single points of failure that make the systems vulnerable to unscheduled outages. Netgotiations are in hand with the local commerical power company to operate the two existing transformers in parallel to a capacity of 17MVA as an interim measure, but some modifications will be necessary to allow this to occur."

"Randomes" in the Yorkshire countryside
The site, officially known as a "communications relay station" is in the Yorkshire countryside and is famous for its giant golf ball like domes known as ramdomes. Little is known about the operations of the site but it has been linked with everything from the US strategic defence initiative or Star Wars missile defence system to the battle against international terrorism. The site Crown property, owned by the Ministry of Defence.
A statement on the RAF web site says: "Cooperation between the UK and US on defence and security matter has a long history, reaching back to WWI. The close relationship between our nations was significantly strengthened in WWII and further demonstrated in teh Desert Storm conflict, operations in the Balkans, Op Telic/Iraqi Freedom and in the ongoing campaign against international terrorism. RAF Menwith Hill continues this tradition of copoeration in support of UK, US and allied interests. We very much welcome this."

An NSA spokeswoman did not respond to requests for information about the agency's IT infrastructure.