Air Force leads in purchase of reusable energy

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WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  The Air Force topped the list of purchasers of renewable energy in 2004, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The service bought nearly 321,000 megawatt-hours for use on bases nationwide. In fact, the Air Force was responsible for more than 40 percent of the renewable power purchased by the federal government in fiscal 2004, said the principal deputy for the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics.

“The Air Force continues to lead the way in helping to drive the development of new renewable energy sources for electricity generation,” Maureen Koetz said. “And we continue to seek new projects and purchases to further expand use of green power to benefit the environment while we carry out the Air Force global mission.”

Green power is electricity from environmentally renewable resources such as solar, wind or geothermal power. Green power currently accounts for about 2 percent of America’s electricity supply, but voluntary purchasing of renewable energy is accelerating renewable energy development, officials said.

Some of the green power commitments made by individual Air Force bases participating in the Green Power Partnership include:

-- Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., purchased 138,000 MWh of green power, enough to meet 60 percent of its power needs. This purchase mitigated the energy price increases occurring during the California energy crisis with cost avoidance projections of $42 million during the five-year contract.

-- Dyess AFB, Texas, is the first Department of Defense installation to be 100-percent powered by renewable energy and was a 2003 Green Power Partner of the Year. Consuming about 76 million kilowatts of wind energy annually, all the electrical power it uses is pollution free. In 2003, it was the largest purchaser of green power at a single site in the nation.

-- Fairchild AFB, Wash., is nearly 100-percent green power. The focus behind the base’s purchase was to support wind farms in the region. This commitment is a cost-effective way to support renewable energy while meeting goals of executive orders encouraging federal agencies to purchase their energy from clean sources.

-- Minot AFB, N.D., purchased 13,960 MWh of green power, representing more than 12 percent of the base’s annual electricity load. Two newly constructed wind turbines located just south of the base supply the power.

-- Ellsworth AFB, S.D., purchased five years of output from a 750 kW wind turbine from a local Sioux tribe starting in 2003.

-- Cannon AFB, N.M., began purchasing 1,800 MWh of wind power in 2002.

-- Goodfellow AFB, Texas, joined the Green Power Partnership in 2003 and is purchasing 10,418 MWh of green power annually.

-- Sheppard AFB, Texas, makes annual purchases of 3,284 MWh of electricity generated from wind. In addition, it received a Federal Energy Saver Showcase Award in 2003 for energy efficiency upgrades made to its central hot/chilled water plant.

The Green Power Partnership is an EPA voluntary program working to standardize green power procurement as part of best practice environmental management. The Green Power Partnership currently includes more than 550 partners, including Fortune 500 companies, states, federal agencies, trade associations and universities.