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Academy officials educate future leaders on alternative energy
Posted 11/19/2010
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by Jennifer Elmore
Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.
11/19/2010 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) -- Leaders at the Air Force Academy broke ground Nov. 1 for a 6-megawatt solar photovoltaic array, one of the largest solar PV projects in Colorado.
The array is part of an energy transformation at the Academy, both physically and culturally, as officials seek to make the Academy a "Net Zero" installation by producing as much energy as it consumes. In so doing, the goal is to facilitate culture change within the Academy by example and through coursework that further emphasizes energy efficiency and energy conservation as strategic imperatives.
To assist with this cultural transformation, Academy officials have found ways to incorporate energy into the curriculum and capitalize on on-going energy research. The dean of faculty has revamped or created several courses focused on energy technologies and sustainable engineering systems in the Civil and Environmental Department, the Mechanical Department and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Many of these courses are cultivating cadet independent studies on topics such as green roofs, solar energy and ground source heating.
On-going cadet and faculty research in the departments of Aeronautics, Biology, Physics and Chemistry are developing innovative technologies for renewable energy, such as wave energy, biofuels, improved solar cells and thermal energy. This integration of research into cadet learning is fundamental to the evolving culture change.
Likewise, faculty members are finding ways to integrate energy and sustainability issues into capstone and senior-level educational experiences that meet at the intersection of education, research and real engineering impact.
Military leaders also are reinforcing this message and supporting initiatives like those of the Academy. At a recent speech on energy, Undersecretary of the Air Force Erin C. Conaton noted, "The Air Force is the largest consumer of energy in the Department of Defense, which itself is the largest consumer in the federal government. During a time when budgets are tight, we want to decrease the amount of money we're spending on (energy) and increase the amount we're spending on Airmen, their families and our readiness."
This renewed emphasis from Ms. Conaton and other senior leaders makes the Air Force a fertile proving ground for these energy transformation efforts.
To that end, Air Force leaders have made reducing demand, increasing supply and changing the energy culture key strategic themes. These themes are evident at the Academy where thousands of cadets are trained and groomed to be the Air Force's future leaders.
In addition to the ground-breaking for the PV array, Academy officials have multiple efforts in place to reduce demand and increase supply. They recently completed a 173-kilowatt building-integrated photovoltaic array and have awarded contracts for another 300-kW BIPV system. Ground-source heat pumps have been installed at six facilities. A 75-kW waste-to-energy gasifier is scheduled for installation later this year, and a prototype anaerobic digestion WTE unit designed to turn food waste in to methane will be built during fiscal 2011.
"With all of these projects in play, the Air Force Academy is set to achieve significant financial and energy savings, potentially totaling $1.3M annually through a combination of energy cost savings and estimated renewable energy certificate sales," said Russell Hume, the Academy energy program manager, who is responsible for these projects. "When we achieve our goal to be a Net Zero facility, we will really be walking the walk on energy conservation."
The larger goal, to change the Air Force's energy culture, is harder to quantify, officials said. Instead, it will be measured more by the collective efforts and downstream effects of an energy culture change at the Academy.
"At the Air Force Academy, the mantra is 'Wear Blue...Think Green with everything we do,'" said Col. Rick LoCastro, the 10th Air Base Wing commander here. "We want to ensure our young Airmen and cadets are instilled with this mindset as early in their careers as possible, and then let them carry it with them as they advance through the ranks, leading by example along the way."
As Air Force leaders plan for a future where energy management is as much a security issue as a budgetary requirement, the imperative to change the energy mindset from the ground up remains strong. They, along with members of the Department of Defense, were reminded of this fact recently by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who spoke about the importance of energy at a Pentagon Energy Security forum.
"The world isn't what it used to be whether we wish it to be so or not," he said. "We can either lead the change or be changed by the leadership of others. I prefer the former."
Air Force Academy officials, as part of developing cadets into leaders of character, have taken these words to heart, and are educating those who will "lead the change."
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| Tom Heffernan, Eglin AFB FL |
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| tr, ok |
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| Mike, Colo Springs Colo. |
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| Otis R. Needleman, USA |
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| Ben, Scott AFB IL |
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| Charles Phillips LtCol USAF Retired, Houston Texas |
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