The Federal Energy and Water Management Award winners include individuals and organizations who made significant contributions to energy and water efficiency within the Air Force. The annual program is sponsored by the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) in conjunction with the Federal Interagency Energy Policy Committee.

2021 WINNERS

CAREER EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE AWARD

In Robert Anderson's 37 years of federal career service, including the past 13 years with the Air National Guard (ANG) Civil Engineering Technical Service Center, he has become the ANG subject matter expert for mechanical engineering matters. He serves as the lead project manager for Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization, Military Construction, and Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program projects at 21 primary installations and 7 associated Geographically Separated Units in 13 states and territories. Since 2003, the 103 energy related projects Mr. Anderson has executed have resulted in a cumulative reduction in energy use intensity of 21.7% and water use intensity of 30.9% for installations in his assigned states and territories.

PROGRAM AWARDS

Hill Air Force Base, Utah

In FY 2020, the Air Base Wing (ABW) at Hill Air Force Base initiated an ISO-50001 Ready energy management system (EnMS) program. This effort helped to identify significant energy users and applicable energy consumption targets. The EnMS was used to develop measurement, documentation, and reporting standards for steam, natural gas, water, and electricity systems. The program’s close coordination, along with the rigorous measurement and documentation framework, led to numerous energy efficiency project opportunities. Three projects—featuring air balance controls, automatic dip tank covers with advanced controls, and compressed air system loop optimization—accounted for roughly half of the 26 million kWh saved in FY 2020.

Robins Air Force Base, Georgia

The Robins Energy Program Management Team works in a highly collaborative environment, developing strategies to achieve reduced energy consumption, improved energy resilience, and revitalized infrastructure of aged, failing equipment critical to all mission partners at Robins Air Force Base. In addition to leveraging direct funding from the Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program and third party financing, the Robins Team has also begun leveraging Air Force Materiel Command's continuous process improvement model, known as "Art-of-the-Possible" or "The Machine," to increase awareness and resolve constraints. The Machine currently tracks 28 initiatives with total project savings of more than $493 million.

Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma

Tinker Air Force Base's Energy Team has reduced energy consumption even as the base continues to grow. From FY 2019 to FY 2020, Tinker reduced energy consumption by 10% and water consumption by 25%, yielding nearly $3 million and $550,000 in respective savings. Capping off a series of successful energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) and utility energy service contracts (UESCs), Tinker completed its third and largest ESPC to date in FY 2020, focused on industrial processes at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex. Efforts completed there in FY 2020 include lighting efficiency, steam decentralization, and improvements to the energy management control system (EMCS), chillers, air compressors, and industrial processes.

PROJECT AWARDS

Eglin Air Force Base, Florida

Eglin Air Force Base (EAFB), in partnership with Energy Services Group and Okaloosa Gas District, completed the installation of two peak shaving generators, a natural gas combined heat and power package, and additional solar power resulting in nearly 7 megawatts of real-time energy resilience and cost-effective mission assurance for EAFB's critical loads. The combined energy produced from these natural gas units and state-of-the-art solar arrays satisfies nearly 20% of all electric demand on EAFB's extensive western grid. Additional mission resilience and assurance is achieved through a dedicated microgrid control system.

McConnell Air National Guard Base, Kansas

McConnell Air National Guard Base (ANGB) hosts the Intelligence and Cyber Operations mission, which requires critical climate control for energy intensive computer server rooms. McConnell ANGB completed a state-of-the-art ground source heat pump system, along with retrofitting and HVAC upgrades. The system recovers and diverts waste heat from high-intensity buildings with steady power consumption and heats buildings with warm coolant, reducing the need for natural gas. The 247 tons of installed geothermal capacity yielded a combined annual electric and natural gas energy savings of 12.5 Mmbtu and an energy cost savings of more than $265,000 during FY 2020.

2020 WINNERS

CONTRACTING AWARDS

U.S. Air Force
Misawa Air Base, Japan

The Air Force awarded a $206 million ESPC project at Misawa Air Base that will include energy conservation and measures that support resilience such as a smart grid, solar arrays, and a cogeneration power plant capable of generating 6.2 MW of power and 83,000 lbs/hour of steam. Recognizing the importance of redundant energy sources in an area prone to national disasters, the project includes construction of a new LNG facility capable of providing six days-worth of fuel in the event of a power disruption. The new generation plant is estimated to cut energy waste by 20% across 679 buildings, generate 70% of the peak electrical demand, and reduce 60% of the annual electrical load. The contract received support from local Japanese leaders for providing new construction jobs and long term positions to run the operations and maintenance program and new cogeneration plant.

U.S. Air Force
Offices of the Assistant Secretaries of the Air Force for Energy, Installations and Environment, Financial Management and Comptroller, and General Counsel, and the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center

Washington, D.C.

In FY 2019, the Air Force became the first DoD service to retain energy cost savings in an extended availability account, leveraging authority granted in 10 U.S.C. § 2912 and the DoD Financial Management Regulation. The Air Force now leverages energy cost savings to fund energy resilience priorities through its “Resilient Energy Savings Resource Vault.” The team captured $15.1 million by the end of FY 2019 from savings calculated across 25 Air Force installations, laying the groundwork for other services to similarly retain funds for unfunded energy resilience projects. Per statutory authority, they will split these funds fifty-fifty between the installations where energy cost savings were realized and the Air Force enterprise, where the funds will be used to implement projects that address energy resilience, mission assurance, weather damage repair and prevention, energy conservation, and energy security measures.

PROGRAM AWARDS

U.S. Air Force
441 Vehicle Support Chain Operations Squadron

Arlington, Virginia

In FY 2019 the U.S. Air Force 441 Vehicle Support Chain Operations Squadron saw a reduction in fleet operating costs of $10.3 million, representing a 22.3% cost savings within a single year even when driving more miles, when compared to FY 2018.  The program also saw a 42.7% increase in AFV inventory compared to FY 2018, with AFVs now representing more than 24% of the total Air Force fleet inventory. The program achieved these results through effective management of the fleet, including vehicle prioritization, right-sizing, and “U-Drive It” fleets, as well as professional development and training. The centralized program manages the second largest federal fleet—including operating and maintaining 81,000 Air Force-owned vehicles valued at $11 billion, managing 93,000 contract vehicles authorized for official use, and overseeing a $42 million vehicle lease program of more than 14,000 vehicles.

U.S. Air Force
Air Force Civil Engineering Center
Energy Directorate for Program Development

Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida

From FY 2016 to FY 2019, the Air Force Civil Engineering Center Energy Directorate for Program Development program team worked to develop and award 25 complex ESPCs and UESCs with an implementation value of nearly $1 billion that together will generate a guaranteed annual savings of $1.7 billion over the next 22 years. The centralized program office was created to support all third-party financed contract development at installations worldwide. The recent reinvigoration of the program also resulted in energy service companies adjusting projects to include resilience conservation measures, metered baselines, a robust measurement and verification plan, and operation and maintenance on ECMs. In FY 2019 the resilience focus is clear, with $337 million in awarded projects included a notable $83 million for generation assets, $39 million in renewable energy, and $71 million in distributed generation and microgrids.