Written on October 7, 2009 at 12:48 pm by glenn.selby

Air Force Achieving Green Goals

Filed under DoD News {2 comments}

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By MC3 William Selby

Due to the amount of energy used by the U.S. Air Force, Department of Defense officials have decided to cut 20 percent of their energy consumption by the year 2020.

Additionally, the Air Force Energy Plan includes a goal to reduce infrastructure cost by 20 percent in 2020.

To reach this goal the Air Force is applying several new strategies. One way to increase energy efficiency is by using renewable energy like solar, wind and geothermal power.

“We’re basically trying to use green energy wherever we can,” U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Melissa Jumper, 1 CES Requirements Chief said. “The general idea is to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent by 2020 and that’s the direction we’re going and that’s why we’re trying to use these different types of energy efficient systems.”

By increasing energy efficiency, the Air Force can reduce the demand for energy and increase the supply.

Engineers have already begun drilling a geothermal well on Langley Air Force Base that taps the Earth’s energy for heating and cooling the buildings on base.

“It’s 60 percent more energy efficient than all standard conventional systems made today,” Mike Battelle, a civil engineer said. “The Earth’s constant temperature never changes and we can recycle that energy using the Earth’s temperature.”

Many of the Air Combat Command bases already use renewable energy including Nellis, Dyess and Shaw Air Force Bases. Their efforts will help the Air Force reach its energy reduction role.

“We benefit in a lot of ways,” Jumper said. “First of all, the Air Force is going to save money in the long run because we’re using these energy efficient systems that will, overall, reduce our energy bill between now and into the future.”