2008 Presidential Energy Management Award Winners
The Presidential Awards for Leadership in Federal Energy Management recognize federal employees for their support, leadership, and efforts in promoting and improving federal energy management. Winners of the 2008 awards include:
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of Public and Indian Housing
Public Housing Authorities Saving Energy
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) developed a comprehensive program that invests in conservation and energy management to increase the asset value of public housing agencies (PHAs) and improve the quality of life for low-income residents. In 2003, PIH launched a project to establish a utility benchmarking tool that used actual utility consumption data from PHAs. A new automated system allows reporting of consumption data at individual properties, providing baseline information for each PHA to monitor the results of their conservation programs.
PIH has taken steps to increase energy performance contracting (EPC) as a key financing tool, including extending maximum contract terms from 12 to 20 years; strengthening technical support; identifying strategies for enabling small sites to use EPCs; and conducting training. From fiscal year (FY) 2006 to FY 2007, the guaranteed savings of all awarded contracts increased by 80%, from $37.6 million to $68 million, with energy conservation investments increasing by 35% to $121 million. More than 201,800 public housing units have received renovations to date.
PIH also instituted policy that helps PHAs purchase ENERGY STAR® equipment for existing and new public housing, with several states requiring new affordable housing to be built to ENERGY STAR specifications—at least 15% more efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code. The Public Housing Environmental Conservation Clearinghouse distributes news and information to employees at more than 3,200 PHAs on energy and water conservation, best practices, policies, utility data collection tools, and other resources.
Team Members
Darlene Felton
Leroy Ferguson
CAPT John H. Miller, II, CEC, USN
Tara Motley
Brian Ruth
Richard D. Santangelo, P.E.
United States Marine Corps
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar's Energy Campaign
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, has an impressive record of exceeding government mandated reduction levels. In FY 2007, the base achieved a 9.5% reduction in energy intensity from the previous year and a 13% reduction from the baseline─as compared to the Executive Order 13423 mandate of a 6% reduction for that year. This translates to savings of 34 billion Btu and almost $1.4 million. At 49,000 Btu-per-square-foot, Miramar has the lowest energy intensity of all Marine Corps installations.
Top-level support ensures that Miramar's energy professionals have the tools to achieve and exceed mandated goals. A full-time resource efficiency manager focuses on no- and low-cost opportunities, including behavioral aspects of end users, operations and maintenance, awareness, training, and accounting. The base uses energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) and direct appropriated funding for numerous lighting and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning upgrades. Miramar is also on track to exceed the 2% annual reduction for water consumption, based largely on a water reduction effort that in FY 2007 converted 97 million gallons of potable water use to reclaimed water use, with only two of seven project phases complete thus far.
Miramar is completely metered for electric, gas, and water and employs benchmarking technology to permit trend consumption and anomaly identification. The base has completed 100% of its facility audits and is moving forward with a technology-specific ESPC that may allow Miramar to be the first net zero installation. Miramar is creating a request for proposals to develop and offer for purchase 25,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of green power annually, a sizeable portion of the entire station's load, to enhance emergency response, energy reliability, and potentially reduce dependence on diesel generators during emergencies.
Team Members
Wendell Beacham
Victor Beltran
Captain Matthew D'Agostino
Colleen Finch
Lieutenant Commander Efram Fuller
Mercedes Hall
Jack Harkins
Jeremi L. Kowalik, Jr
Michael Lichtenthaler
Lieutenant Colonel Christopher S. Manis
Randy J. Monohan
Colonel Christopher E. O'Connor
Edward Rumsey
Roger Wagner
Thomas Winter
National Archives and Records Administration
Agency-wide Energy Management Initiative
With an overwhelming proportion of square footage dedicated to records and artifact storage, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) maintains an aggressive energy conservation program. In FY 2006, NARA developed an agency-wide energy management plan that formalized policy, procedures, and responsibilities for NARA energy management. In FY 2007, NARA's Energy Management Team focused on the largest and most energy-intensive building in their inventory, implementing major operational changes and infrastructure improvements.
An updated preservation doctrine allowed NARA to modify the air handler programming providing cooling to the document stacks. One handler can now serve two stacks simultaneously—allowing 11 large air handlers to be shut down. An ESPC provided a complete upgrade to the mechanical and energy management control systems as well as a comprehensive lighting upgrade. NARA used direct appropriations for another project where the team automated the chemical treatment system to the cooling towers and replaced an aging deionization system.
NARA also began on-site energy audits at each of the Presidential Libraries to identify no- and low-cost initiatives as well as cost-effective capital projects. These larger capital projects include a cogeneration system at the Reagan Library and sustainable improvements to the Clinton Library that resulted in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum status. In the last two fiscal years, NARA invested more than $7.5 million in energy efficiency projects. As a result, the agency reduced energy intensity by more than 6% from FY 2006 and almost 19% from the 2003 baseline, representing combined savings of 114 billion Btu, more than $2 million in energy costs, and 5,700 tons in avoided carbon emissions.
Team Members
John Bartell
William A. Harris
Walter D. Hayes
Ronald C. Noll
Ngan Pham
Wilson Reynolds
Steve Samford
William Saulino
Gary Simmons
David Sponn
Mark D. Sprouse
General Services Administration, Pacific Rim Region
Green Government at its Best
The General Service Administration's (GSA) Pacific Rim Region's strategic energy plan focuses on the benefits of on-site generation to reduce dependence on utility-provided energy; compliance with energy-related design criteria; and long-term environmental and sustainable principles. The Pacific Energy and Sustainability Team participates in every capital improvement project to provide direction and guidance in project design, sharing its expertise on technology, goals and objectives, and financing options. The team's efforts have resulted in a decrease in energy intensity of more than 2% from the region's 2003 baseline despite increased operational requirements, increased security, and extended operating hours.
In FY 2007, the team completed projects in nine separate facilities, encompassing 24 buildings. Projects included a power purchase contract to install a modular alternative generation plant; installation of a 274-kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic (PV) system; a 10-year contract award for on-site PV power producing 740 MWh per year; and a widespread lighting retrofit project that uses the latest technologies in occupancy sensors, fluorescent tubes, induction lamps, and electronic ballasts. The new San Francisco Federal Building, designed and constructed to standards that surpass energy and environmental benefits of similar conventional buildings, is hailed as one of the greenest public buildings in America. The Reno Veterans Affairs Regional Office is the first LEED-certified building in the Pacific Rim's inventory, receiving a LEED Silver rating.
The Pacific Energy and Sustainability Team spreads the word about the region's green buildings through facility tours and learning kiosks, and through internal communications such as the region's quarterly newsletter and Web-based community bulletin board.
Team Members
Montserrat Agleham
Gregory V. Allison
Tim F. Cashman
Steven M. Clark
Paul J. Davis
Angel L. Gonzalez
Naomi L. Hatkin
Patrick G. Jones
David E. Leites
Mark S. Levi
Robert Martinez
Edward J. Rodriguez