1/3/2007 - HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AFPN) -- Fifteen congressional delegates visited the hydrogen fueling station at Hickam AFB Dec. 29.
Opened in November 2006, the facility is a renewable energy station that is helping the Air Force overcome its dependency on petroleum products by providing an alternate fuel source.
The unique Air Force facility is also a joint green-energy initiative between the Hawaiian Center for Advanced Transportation Technology and the Air Force's Advanced Power Technology office.
This relationship and the facility's advances in conservation made a direct impact on the visiting delegates.
The Air Force does a better job than any of the other military services, said delegation chairman U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett.
The delegation saw the Air Force's efforts as valuable beyond the military, especially with the rise in energy usage from emerging nations around the world.
"This is going to be an enormous geopolitical problem," Representative Bartlett said. "I'm very pleased with what the military is doing -- particularly pleased with what the Air Force is doing in leading this."
On its tour, the delegation also made stops in Guam and Japan before returning to Washington, D.C.
