ACC participates in Air Force Energy Forum III

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LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) --  Air Combat Command shared its leading-edge energy conservation practices with other Air Force agencies at a forum in Washington, D.C.

The ACC Energy Management Steering Group participate in the Air Force Energy Forum III, May 27 and 28. The Forum brings together agencies to focus on the service's most pressing energy needs.

This year's theme, "A New Culture: Energy as an Operations Enabler," brought Air Force, government and industry energy representatives together to identify opportunities and challenges, as well as share best practices. This gave Air Combat Command the chance to highlight how it is moving forward by reducing demand, increasing supply and changing culture.

The command has implemented major energy saving programs in three areas: flying policies that emphasize the smart use of energy; for vehicles, the focus is on procuring energy-efficient products and vehicles and increasing the number of flexible fuels systems; and for installations, actively pursuing renewable and alternative energy sources.

In aircraft fuels, Dean Gould is the chief of flight management for the ACC Operations Directorate. One of the big hurdles he faces is culture change with regard to fuels. The series of instructions for mission design, which refers to the aircraft type, have been updated to make fuel management a priority. The mindset is to make every drop count, he said.

Mr. Gould said aircraft can fly efficiently based on fuel planning and aircraft weight control.
"Aircrews need to plan to the best range speeds in order to achieve greatest distance for the fuel burned," he said. Unless there is an operational necessity, ACC maximized fuel burn on its aircraft and continues to work on improvements.

On the ground, ACC vehicles have made gains in energy conservation programs. The vehicle fleet manager for the ACC Maintenance and Logistics Directorate is Chief Master Sgt. Wayne Potter. He oversees procuring energy efficient ground vehicles and increasing the number of flexible fuels systems. Chief Potter's office works to maximize the use of biodiesel, procure flex fuel-capable vehicles and acquire plug-in hybrids.

"We've submitted our first order to purchase six plug-in hybrids for the command in the fiscal year 2010 vehicle buy," Chief Potter said. "We expect the number to increase as the technology becomes more widespread and economically feasible."

As for alternative fuels such as E85, the chief said its availability is limited, but it's constantly improving. Also, by downsizing the fleet and using alternative fuels, ACC has been able to reduce motor vehicle fleet petroleum fuel use by 2 percent a year.

In addition to vehicles, ACC facilities are becoming more energy efficient.

Mark Hunt is the facility energy branch chief for the ACC Installations and Mission Support Directorate. He said ACC invested $28.2 million in fiscal 2010 to reduce energy consumption. Projects included installing efficient lighting, ventilation and energy-proofing buildings.

One of the installations and mission support directorate's greatest efforts is developing renewable energy, and a prime example is the 14 MW solar photovoltaic array at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

"It is the second largest solar power plant in North America," Mr. Hunt said. "More than 72,000 solar panels supply roughly 25 percent of the base's needs and saves approximately $1 million per year in utilities."

That's just the beginning. Plans are underway to procure an array for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., as well as increase the size of the photovoltaic array at Nellis, and build a waste-to-energy plant, which burns waste to make electricity, at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.

"Our focus is on increasing renewable energy sources at locations where it is economically viable to reduce dependence on foreign oil," Mr. Hunt said.

The command's energy manager, Steve Dumont, explained that green power is procured using Renewable Energy Power Purchase Agreements. These arrangements consist of a utility contract with an accompanying lease that allows the energy generation equipment to be sited on Air Force land. Green energy is then purchased at a price that results in a lower overall life cycle cost rather than procuring energy from conventional sources.

"With tightly constrained utility budgets, we cannot justify paying more for renewable energy, which is almost always more costly to produce than conventional energy," Mr. Dumont said. "The REPPA arrangement allows private developers to take advantage of tax incentives, rebates and market mechanisms to defray the costs of renewable energy systems and pass the discount to us."

Mr. Dumont said this is just the beginning.

"We expect to improve our innovative Air Force energy initiatives to begin and end with our bright, talented and motivated military and civilian workforce. We make energy a consideration in all we do."