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Scott showcases energy efficiencies for top official

  • Published
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  The Honorable Miranda Ballentine, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment, and Energy visited Scott Air Force Base Dec. 2-4 to learn about the base's efforts to promote energy conservation and reduce energy consumption.

In addition to discussions with senior leadership about Scott's energy use, Ballentine's visit included facility tours of three Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED-certified buildings. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is a national green-building certification program to promote the construction, maintenance, and operation of sustainable buildings that minimize energy use and are eco-friendly. There are four levels of LEED certifications from basic certification, silver, gold, and platinum.

Ballentine toured the 375th Security Forces' Base Defense Operations Center and the Child Development Center, which were built in 2010 and are LEED Silver certified. Ballentine also toured the 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, which was completed in 2012 and is LEED Gold certified. The AES building includes 42 geothermal wells located 300 feet below the surface, which helps with the heating and cooling systems, and a solar-powered water heater on the roof to help relieve demand from the electric and gas systems. The AES building also has energy-efficient light fixtures.

Ballentine's visit also included a tour of the Scott Medical Clinic, which earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Certification in 2012 that identifies the facility is in the top 25 percent for energy efficiency compared to similar nationwide facilities.

"The Air Force has a $9 billion energy budget, which is now almost 10 percent of the Air Force budget. So, we need to ask ourselves what can we do to drive that number down so we can put that money somewhere else. Is this still important? Yes, it's still important," said Ballentine.

Implementing LEED standards in the design and construction of new facilities is one way Scott AFB is reducing its energy use. Scott has also upgraded light fixtures saving the base more than 1.2 million watts per year; added occupancy and daylight sensors that allow lights to dim to 15 percent capacity when not in use; and installed a program that automatically shuts off computers.

Overall, Scott has reduced its energy intensity, defined as measuring energy usage based on square footage as opposed to the installation as a whole, by 21 percent since fiscal year 2003 because of upgrades like this and the construction of facilities to LEED standards. Additionally, 4.4 percent of the base's total electric power consumption was renewable in 2012.