Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Western Currency Facility

Effluent holding reservoir

Dyess Air Force Base
United States Air Force

Dyess Air Force Base and surrounding west Texas has been under extreme-drought water restrictions for years. To ease the stress on the nearby city of Abilene's potable water supply, Dyess began using the city's effluent water for irrigation. They arranged to use existing oil pipelines to economically transport the water 7 miles from the city to the base. Dyess also entered into an Energy Savings Performance Contract to add two 11M-gallon holding reservoirs, two pump stations, and 3 miles of distribution piping to connect the irrigation system. The project reduces annual potable water consumption by 160 million gallons and saves the base $300,000 a year. It also saves the city a highly valued 2% of its water supply.

Astronaut Quarantine Facility, NASA Johnson Space Center (Houston, TX)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA Johnson Space Center's new Astronaut Quarantine Facility employs many sustainable features and earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) Certified rating by the U.S. Green Building Council. Prior to spaceflight, astronauts live in this facility and receive conditioning from high output lighting to adapt to their upcoming sleep/wake schedule. This lighting consumes additional energy and produces additional heat that the air conditioning system must remove. Facing the challenge of optimizing building energy performance, the design team utilized energy-efficient windows, extra insulation, a reflective roof, and high efficiency variable speed HVAC equipment with an enthalpy wheel. The resulting facility design performs almost 16 percent more efficiently than energy code requirements.

Johnson Space Center - Child Care Center (Houston, TX)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

To help reduce conventional energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions, NASA's Johnson Space Center constructed a Multi-Platform Renewable Energy System at its on-site Child Care Center. When the building is not occupied or when the electric load is low, surplus energy generated by the system is fed to JSC's electric grid. The project provides data on determining the best options for constructing future renewable energy projects, and also provides real-time field data on how to operate and maintain large surface-based solar photovoltaic arrays necessary for lunar surface exploration.

Goodfellow Air Force Base (San Angelo, TX)

United States Air Force

The innovative energy team at Goodfellow Air Force Base took a holistic approach to energy management that achieved a 20% reduction in energy consumption since 1985. In FY 2000, the team implemented: a $2.1 million ESPC saving $246,000 a year, nine new energy-saving HVAC systems that will save $85,000 a year, advanced energy management control systems that will reduce costs by $19,000 annually, and a far-reaching Energy Awareness Program

We invite all of you to get a discussion going.  Please submit your comments at the end of this article, Thanks.