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Department of Energy Management Awards - 2003 Award Winners

• Organizations
• Outstanding Individual Effort
• Small Groups
• Demonstrating Leadership in Energy Management
• DOE Energy Champions

Organizations

National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Sustainable NREL Program
Golden, CO
303-384-7534

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) initiated implementation of its Sustainable NREL Program in FY 2001 and now on the vanguard in implementing sustainability in the DOE complex. NREL's mission focuses on sustainability and the Sustainable NREL Master Plan models that mission. The Master Plan is based on the accepted framework of sustainability principles: economic viability, economic stewardship, and public responsibility. NREL has achieved significant results in meeting and exceeding Executive Order requirements pertaining to water efficiency, green house gas reduction, sustainable building design, transportation, recycling and environmentally preferable purchasing and has institutionalized innovative education and outreach activities.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Transportation Systems Management Program
Livermore, CA
925-422-7482

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is being recognized for the success of their Transportation Systems Management Program. The Program promotes and coordinates more than 400 car pools and 30 vanpools, provides on- and off-site taxis and shuttle buses, and a fleet of approximately 800 bicycles, and heads the Tri-Valley Employers Task Force for Clean Air (regional agency). The primary communication method for keeping employees informed about convenient and cost-effective commuting alternatives is via the Laboratory computer network and also campus newspapers. Preferential parking is provided at LLNL for carpools and vanpools; and there are numerous bike racks. Participants in car and vanpools are not left stranded if they miss their ride. A Guaranteed Ride Home Program is available to registered Laboratory commuters. The Transportation Systems Management Program is responsible for reducing employee commuting and LLNL fleet fuel and operating costs by almost $1.4 million annually.

DOE Germantown Facility
2002 ENERGY STAR® Building Label
Germantown, MD
202-586-9285

The Germantown Facility has been successfully labeled by the Federal Energy Management Program and the Environmental Protection Agency as an ENERGY STAR® building saving energy and money while maintaining an acceptable indoor environment. To qualify for an ENERGY STAR® building label, a facility's energy consumption is measured on a 0-100 scale. Commercial, industrial, and federal facilities that are in the top 25 percent nationwide in terms of energy performance and that maintain an indoor environment which conforms to industry standards, can earn the rating. The minimum score to qualify for the ENERGY STAR® buildings label is 75; the Germantown building earned a mark of 83. Cost effective and energy efficient retrofit projects to-date at the Germantown building have achieved a 41 percent reduction in energy consumption at Headquarters at the end of FY 2002, when compared to the FY 1985 baseline. Germantown has exceeded the Executive Order 13123 goal of 35 percent for FY 2010 by achieving this goal 8 years ahead of schedule by more than 6 percent. The team achieved this reduction in energy consumption without sacrificing occupant comfort, health, or safety.

Argonne National Laboratory
Central Supply Facility
Argonne, IL
630-252-7808

As the first federally-owned building to achieve the "Silver" LEED Rating by the U.S. Green Buildings Council, the Argonne National Laboratory Central Supply Facility is making history. The building's design includes more than 15 building materials chosen for their recycled, renewable, or lower-emitting content. In addition, several energy conservation features reduce electricity consumption by 20 percent and natural gas by 30 percent, lowering the building's greenhouse gas impact by 55 tons per year and saving 572 million Btu annually. The building's design and construction minimized the site impacts and reduced solid waste. Material selection, energy conservation, and construction methods played a role in the recognition of the 19,000 square foot facility by the Department of Energy and the White House as one of three Office of Science National Laboratories for Excellence in Environmental Stewardship through Pollution Prevention.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Wind Blows Green Energy into National Laboratory
Richland, WA
509-372-2680

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) agreed in FY 2002 to purchase more than 8.7 million kilowatt hours of power produced by a local wind farm for FY 2003. This purchase, combined with a smaller purchase of renewable power, will provide almost 14 percent of the energy for the Laboratory. The purchase implements the measures of Executive Order 13123, Section 204, and exceeds DOE's goal of purchasing 3 percent renewable energy by 2005 and 7.5 percent by 2010. Also, the partnership that PNNL initiated resulted in a renewable energy option for city residents and businesses. It also means PNNL is one of the federal government's leaders in the use of "green energy."

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Plug into Savings Project
Richland, WA
509-372-2680

In fiscal years 2002 and 2003, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, working with Bonneville Power Administration, distributed nearly 10,000 energy-saving Isole® 8-Outlet Power Strips manufactured by Watt Stopper® Inc. as part of its "Plug into Savings" project. The project also worked with management and staff at the Laboratory to eliminate unneeded computers and initiated a project to place inactive computer monitors in standby mode through the network to save energy. The project will save an estimated 8.5 million kilowatt hours and almost $342,000 per year for the Department of Energy at the Hanford Site and other facilities in Richland, Washington.

Outstanding Individual Effort

Allen W. Carbaugh
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne, IL
630-252-8021

Allen W. Carbaugh, Supervisor of Utility Systems in the Plant Facilities and Service Division of Argonne National Laboratory has implemented multiple programs and projects that have yielded energy savings and avoided costs in excess of $1 million annually. Mr. Carbaugh played a key role in the rehabilitation of the central heating plant, changing over the controls of the steam generators and establishing a central control room. Mr. Carbaugh guided the construction and rehabilitation of the sanitary wastewater treatment plant and canal water treatment plant, new Lake Michigan water pumping station, as well as the construction of the new Laboratory wastewater treatment plant. One of the more innovative ideas advanced by Mr. Carbaugh was to utilize the existing well water treatment plant for pumping of Lake Michigan water avoiding the installation of any new pumps or storage tanks. Not only did this result in equipment savings, but it allows the wells to be utilized as an alternate source of water. Mr. Carbaugh's accomplishments have been achieved through a well-planned and consistently managed effort to improve the overall efficiency of utility systems.

Small Groups

Kurt Kasules
Michael Michalak
Gary Sliwicki
Romesh Sood
Ted Thorson
Fermilab
Batavia, IL
630-840-4071

The Fermilab Industrial Building Controls Retrofit is a cooperative solution to reduce energy associated with five HVAC units in Fermilab's main manufacturing facility for cryogenic superconducting accelerator components. This project replaced outdated pneumatic control systems with state-of-the-art direct digital controls, which are more accurate and maintainable, and allow for more sophisticated control strategies. This project included new operating control sequences for night setback of temperatures and ventilation, optimum start/stop of systems, and carbon dioxide monitoring for outside air control. Fermilab saved 402 million Btu and more than $5,000 in FY 2002.

Demonstrating Leadership in Energy Management

Seattle Regional Office
Seattle, WA
206-553-7838

The DOE Seattle Regional Office (SRO) has demonstrated how many of the suggestions from the Energy Efficiency Leased-Space Toolbook can be put into practice. The DOE office, comprising 20,000 square feet of an ENERGY STAR® labeled 42-story office tower has undertaken numerous efficiency efforts. As part of these efforts, the Office installed light switches in individual offices so lights can be turned off when the room isn't in use. Also, the SRO purchased Berkeley lamps for individual offices and the copy room saving almost 3,000 kilowatts and $188 per year of electricity. The track lighting in the main reception area was switched off and hallway lights and daylight were used instead. Additionally, the SRO procured ENERGY STAR® LCD monitors which use 22 watts instead of 75 watts for regular monitors. Finally, the SRO embarked on a "Walk the Talk" awareness campaign to promote turning off computers and lights when not in use.

Atlanta Regional Office
Atlanta, GA
404-562-0567

The Atlanta Regional Office (ARO) has saved significant amounts of energy and water through effective energy management, environmentally sound purchasing and practices, and implementation of a water conservation program. The ARO has accomplished this through the use of alternative financing, ENERGY STAR® products, environmentally sensitive design, life-cycle costing analysis, and the inclusion of highly efficient energy systems in the construction of its office. The ARO assisted in developing an energy saving performance contract for the Richard B. Russell Federal Building in Atlanta. Through this project, the ARO created a showcase of energy efficiency and the use of environmentally sound materials and practices. Designated an ENERGY STAR® Building, the showcase Russell Building has proven to be a significant part of the outreach effort of the Atlanta Regional Office and an effective model for other agencies in the Southeast to emulate. These efforts have resulted in energy savings of 5.2 million kilowatt hours per year.

DOE Energy Champions

Ernest Fossum
Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory

Twenty-First Century Citizenship is being championed by engineers like Ernest Fossum of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory who, by providing technical leadership for INEEL's energy management program to identify and develop energy-saving projects, has helped the Department of Energy save more than $8.4 million since FY 1985.

Mike J. Moran, Jr.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Twenty-First Century Citizenship is being led by facility managers like Mike Moran of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory who, by implementing innovative activities that encourage individuals to conserve energy around the office; acquiring 8.8 million kilowatt hours of wind power; and using more than $3 million in alternative funding to implement conservation measures, is helping the Department of Energy save more than $500,000 annually.