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30th CES members win award for outstanding energy management program
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Members of the 30th Civil Engineer Squadron Energy Conservation Team here were chosen by the U.S. Department of Energy as one of the federal government's outstanding energy and water conservation programs of the year Aug. 3.
The Federal Energy and Water Management Awards are awarded annually and honor individuals and teams that are making significant contributions to improve efficiency in the use of energy and water resources within the federal government.
The individuals honored as part of the energy conservation team were 2nd Lt. Julian Vaiana, Bradley King, Scott Bly and Pernell Rush.
"In the last couple of years we have touched almost every building on this base with energy conservation materials," said King, 30th Civil Engineer Squadron base energy manager. "Most people have not noticed much of a difference day to day, but it has reduced the energy consumption, and that means we are doing a good job."
Throughout the last few years Vandenberg's energy conservation team has retrofitted many buildings on base and tested the impacts of solar power on energy systems.
"The solar electric system on a facility on Oak Mountain is a net-zero building meaning that it makes as much as it uses in a day, sometimes more, pushing energy back into the grid," said King. "We have also equipped the base pool with a solar thermal system that has the potential to augment about 30 percent of the heating requirements of the pool."
As well as increasing the usage of solar energy on base, Vandenberg's energy conservation team has been updating older systems with more energy-efficient systems.
"About 500 exterior lights have been upgraded to LED fixtures representing about 15 percent of our total exterior lighting," said King. "The wing is at or exceeding the federal governments expectations on energy."
LED fixtures tout lower energy consumption and a longer lifetime.
The future for renewable energy on Vandenberg is moving forward. Plans are formulating to test wind energy and wave energy, said King.