by Brianna Crandall — October 15, 2010—The U.S. Department of Energy on October 7 announced that more than 30 individuals, teams and organizations across the federal government were selected to receive Federal Energy and Water Management Awards for outstanding and innovative efforts to implement sustainable strategies that improve energy, water, and vehicle fleet efficiency. DOE notes that as the single largest consumer of energy in the country, the federal government has the responsibility and opportunity to lead by example.
The 31 initiatives receiving awards saved taxpayers almost $42 million in energy and water costs in fiscal year 2009 and kept the equivalent of about 190,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released. These efforts are also helping to move cutting-edge clean energy technologies into the marketplace, create new jobs, and strengthen national security, adds DOE.
The 2010 award winners were selected from nominations submitted by 17 federal agencies. Included among the winners are employees from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy; the Departments of Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, Interior, Transportation and Veterans Affairs; and the Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The combined accomplishments of this year’s winners include:
- Saving 38 billion Btu through the installation of renewable energy systems, including solar thermal and photovoltaic systems, wind turbines, and methane gas generated by landfills;
- Implementing facility-wide comprehensive changes to operations and maintenance practices, saving 1.7 trillion Btu by upgrading HVAC equipment and by installing high-efficiency lighting and energy management control systems;
- Installing significant water efficiency improvements, saving 3.2 billion gallons of water through high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, upgrades to irrigation systems, use of native landscaping, discovery and repair of major leaks, and reuse of reclaimed and recovered ground water;
- Building Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) facilities with state-of-the-art technologies and environmentally friendly workspaces;
- Implementing energy savings performance contracts, in which a federal agency partners with an energy service company, which designs and constructs a project, arranges the necessary financing, and guarantees that the improvements will generate energy cost savings sufficient to pay for the project over the term of the contract; and
- Implementing utility energy services contracts, where a utility arranges financing to cover the capital costs of the project, which are repaid over the contract term from cost savings generated by the energy efficiency measures.
- Implementing facility-wide comprehensive changes to operations and maintenance practices, saving 1.7 trillion Btu by upgrading HVAC equipment and by installing high-efficiency lighting and energy management control systems;
