Soto Cano is an air force base in Honduras.  It is a joint venture between the US and Honduras, primarily working in a drug interdiction role against the illegal drug trade.

Soto Cano has been using diesel power generation to power the base for many years.  They use high speed diesels, running 24/7/365.  When a high-speed diesel runs continuously, a couple things happen:

1. You have to change the oil on a regular basis (every 500 hours is typical – which means 21 days!).
2. You have to swap out machines for a major overhaul more frequently than you might think:
   • a. Maybe a machine can make it to about 15,000 hours before a major overhaul.
   • b. If that machine is running 1/2 of the time, that means it must be replaced every 3 years or so.

LEC has had a role in working with personnel at Soto Cano to replace their 5 generators as needed.  When a new generator is rolled into place – surprise! – it may not integrate all that cleanly with the other, existing generators.  What is one to do?  This is where LEC shines:  we understand power generation, paralleling, and load sharing.  We are able to get different makes of generators to parallel and load share.  We are able to get them to digitally communicate so that they can be controlled remotely in a nearby office trailer.

We’ve developed some close relationships with the people in charge of the power plant at Soto Cano over the years.  What a great bunch of people!  We’ve also developed an appreciation for our military and the sacrifices they make.