Protect the Power: October is Energy Action Month

  • Published
  • By Nick Hibdon
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  October is Energy Action Month and Air Force leadership is heading up a “Protect the Power” Campaign.

Power is a critical asset for both Arnold Air Force Base and the community alike. Nearly everything we do revolves around power, from normal day to day conveniences like using a microwave or keeping your house cool in the middle of summer to more large scale efforts like the operation of a manufacturing plant or large AEDC test facilities.

Now the question becomes, “How do we protect the power?” The Air Force’s approach is simple. Power is required to execute the mission of protecting this great nation, so protecting the power is required to ensure its ability to do just that. To align with Air Force priorities, Arnold Air Force Base and other military installations around the world have formed Energy Assurance Planning Teams aimed at exploring energy resiliency and renewable energy sources that could produce enough power to continue critical missions during power outages.

In addition to protecting the mission by protecting the power, Arnold has implemented numerous projects to accomplish the mission more efficiently with goals of reducing energy consumption and cost to the tax payer. At Arnold, $23 million was spent on utilities in Fiscal Year 2016.

However, $4.5 million worth of Energy Savings projects were also executed, including a variety of facility improvements. These efforts alone provide nearly $750,000 in annual savings. The efforts will collectively have paid for themselves in roughly 6 years.
Fiscal Year 2017 has also been full of energy efforts, to include the development of an Energy Savings Performance Contract. The proposed effort includes a base wide LED conversion, adding insulation to the steam trench distribution system, and upgrading the HVAC control system for numerous facilities.

In addition to the Energy Team’s efforts, many other investment and upgrade projects have also led to energy reductions. As AEDC strives to provide best-value ground test capabilities, it is no surprise that the upgrades, improvements and process changes that are implemented lead to energy reductions even if energy conservation was not the primary driver of the project.

Each of us have opportunities to make decisions that advance AEDC and our community towards a better future. It could be as simple as turning off your lights when you leave a room or setting back your thermostat when you are out of the house.

Everything we do as individuals and as a community contributes toward a better future. Whether small scale at home improvements or large-scale efforts within our businesses and industries, these changes make a difference. We protect our future when we “Protect OUR Power.”