In yet another sign that saving energy makes economic sense, and arguably aides national security, the Department of Defense (DoD) cut emissions and energy consumption to the tune of $6.8 million. As part of the reductions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “recognized two Department of Defense (DoD) facilities with the Energy Star Combined Heat and Power (CHP) award for taking an efficient, clean, and reliable approach to generating power and thermal energy from a single source. By using CHP technology, the award winners demonstrated leadership and a commitment to protecting people’s health and the environment.”
The two facilities to receive the recognition were
- U.S. Army Garrison Fort Bragg, N.C.
- U.S. Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.
According to the press release, “CHP technology produces both electricity and steam/hot water from a single heat source, using fuels such as natural gas, biomass, or wasted energy.” This co-generation technology allows for much greater efficiency, turning more of the fuel source into electricity and heat. In fact, “the bases’ CHP systems achieved operating efficiencies of nearly 65 percent, much higher than the efficiency of separate production of electricity and thermal energy (typically less than 50 percent).” Furthermore, the carbon emissions reductions were roughly “equal to that from the electricity used by more than 4,000 homes.”
Due to the decentralization, national security is enhanced by these systems, as they can operate in times of power outages. Reductions in consumption by the DoD are significant, since they are the largest consumer of energy (as an organization) in the U.S. CHP, a voluntary EPA program that has been around since 2001, “encourages the use of CHP to reduce the environmental impact of power generation. The partnership works closely with energy users, the CHP industry, state and local governments, and other energy stakeholders to facilitate the development of new projects and to promote energy, environmental and economic benefits.”
[Image source]
