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Awards Highlight DON as Leader in Energy Savings
Story Number: NNS051027-02
Release Date: 10/27/2005 10:42:00 AM
From Naval Facilities Engineering Command Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Department of the Navy (DoN) honored several installations that have significantly saved energy in its annual Secretary of the Navy Energy (SECNAV) awards ceremony Oct. 26 at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C.
With renewed emphasis on saving energy and rising fuel prices, the DoN is emerging as a model for not only energy management, but also for creative use of new, alternative energy sources.
“We as a country cannot afford to expend energy at our current rate,” said B.J. Penn, Assistant Secretary for the Navy in charge of installations, safety and the environment. “The Navy and the Marines understand this, and that’s why our own conservation efforts are very much in line with President Bush’s recent mandates to federal agencies to curtail energy consumption.”
Receiving awards this year were:
Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton, Bremerton, Wash. -- Large Shore Activity: Replaced its energy management control systems with a state-of-the-art system (with energy deficiencies automated diagnostics) that contributed to $2.7 million worth of energy and water conservation projects.
Naval Air Facility El Centro, El Centro, Calif. -- Small Shore Activity: Five years ago, its energy costs rose by 20 percent. In the past year it reduced its energy consumption down to 3 percent of its goals by adopting several renewable projects, including solar and micro turbines, building monitoring programs, and by closing unused barracks.
Naval Sea Systems Command Warfare Center Carderock Division, West Bethesda, Md. -- Industrial Activity Saved an estimated $275,000 through new technology upgrades. A past winner, it reinvested prize money to install an LED message board in its employee cafeteria, which now displays daily reminders to conserve energy.
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, San Diego -- Marine Corps Large Shore Activity: In addition to fostering more than $6 million in projects, the installation installed solar-powered bus stops, carport charging stations, waste-water overflow detection stations, roof-mounted systems, street signs and security lights for parking lots.
Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz. -- Marine Corps Small Shore Activity: Funded $4 million in infrastructure improvements that cut more than 25,000 Mbtus a year in the process. It also reinvested previous SECNAV prize money to install 96 solar lights along a one-mile pedestrian and bike path that runs to the City of Yuma.
The DoN has aggressively encouraged its installations to reduce water and energy costs – in some cases through competitions against each other. At the same time, its investment in solar, wind, geothermal and even wave technologies are paying dividends and significantly lowering its energy costs.
Since 1985, the DoN has sponsored a worldwide energy management program that has reduced energy consumption by more than 29 percent. The program has resulted in an estimated $400 million in savings per year.
But it is its ambitious alternative energy program that has captured widespread attention. Earlier this year, for example, the DoN inaugurated a four, three-blade wind farm at Guantanamo Bay, considered the world’s largest wind/diesel hybrid. It generates an estimated 3,800 kilowatts of electricity, enough to supply peak power needed for base operations. The project will not only save taxpayers $1.2 million in annual energy costs, but will save 650,000 gallons of diesel fuel and reduce air pollution by 26 tons sulfur dioxide and 15 tons of nitrogen oxide.
“The DoN today understands and lives energy conservation," Penn said. “We are the leaders in the Department of Defense. Our men and women understand that energy conservation is not only turning off lights when they leave a room. It’s investing in new technologies; it’s changing the way we live. It’s not waiting for our precious resources to deplete.”
The annual SECNAV awards highlight the DoN’s energy awareness month. The ceremony recognizes the men and women at the installations for their efforts and draws attention to the significant annual energy savings.
The DoN typically scores well above federal agencies in its research and application of new technologies in energy and alternative resources. For example, among the prestigious Presidential and Federal Energy Management Program awards, the DoN was awarded 40 percent and 37.5 percent of all honors in 2005. Last year, the DoN became the first U.S. government agency honored with a Platts Global Energy Award for its extraordinary leadership and achievement in energy management.
The Navy's worldwide energy program is managed by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command. The program includes state-of-the-art technology and design, the most energy efficient products, a focus on improving individual conservation, and operations and maintenance strategies that significantly reduce energy consumption by Navy and Marine Corps installations worldwide, saving taxpayers more than $500 million each year.
For more information on the Department of Navy's Energy Program, visit https://energy.navy.mil/.
For related news, visit the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/navfachq/.
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