Cannon's energy program helps conserve Cannon's resources Published Oct. 5, 2011 By Caroline Ward 27th Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- On Oct. 2, 2009 and Oct. 1, 2010, President Barack Obama signed a Presidential Proclamation designating October as National Energy Awareness Month. To underscore the importance of this effort, Col. Buck Elton, 27th Special Operations Wing commander, signed a proclamation designating October as CAFB Energy Awareness Month. Energy conservation is of vital importance to ensuring resources for the future. If we don't work to conserve energy and increase supply of renewable energy generation, we run the risk of eventually running out of power. Conservation is important to Cannon Air Force Base; as a military installation, we need to be conscious of our energy and water resources to ensure future sustainment of mission operations. The CAFB Energy Team kicked off the month by initiating an energy conservation and awareness contest to encourage base wide involvement. The team is working to ensure operational energy conservation stays at the forefront of our minds. The 27th Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron manages the program that focuses on energy, water, fuels usage and reduction, building sustainable facilities as well as awareness and outreach. Operational energy refers to any resources needed to continue mission operations. This includes flying, maintenance, and support operations. The energy team works to develop and implement projects that either directly reduce consumption, or install new technology that uses energy in a more efficient way. In the 2010 fiscal year, the Energy Team received funding for three projects providing more than $830,000 in annual energy savings. In 2011, the Energy Team headed two lighting projects with an estimated annual energy savings of more than $70,000. Currently, the team is working on developing projects that will reduce water usage and implement water reuse technology, along with projects that aim to update old building systems such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning. The Fuels Management flight in the 27th Special Operations Logistics and Readiness Squadron is working to incorporate alternative fuels into their fleet of ground vehicles. Currently, they use two alternative fuels. B20 Biodiesel is a blend of 20 percent biomass and 80 percent diesel, and E85 Ethanol is a blend of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol alcohol, which is a corn-based alcohol. Ground fuels usage is monitored monthly and is broken down by squadron to get an accurate picture of where the most fuel is being used on base. Aviation fuels are also included in the effort to reduce; flight simulators allow aircrews to save jet fuel usage by providing an alternate place to train, and the Air Force is actively researching alternative jet fuels. In order to track these changes to legitimize the energy savings, accountability through measures and metrics is very important. CAFB is working to tie 110 advanced electric meters to a computer system that will download data at regular intervals up to 15 minutes and download it onto a central computer. This will allow the Energy Team to track usage and analyze which facilities are using the most energy and through trend analysis will help identify problems in facilities. CAFB reports base energy usage to Air Force Special Operations Command and Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency as energy intensity, or the amount of energy used per square foot of facilities. This is the metric by which our progress to meet energy reduction mandates is measured. An important aspect of energy awareness and reduction in consumption is culture change. The activities planned by CAFB Energy Team in October aim to raise awareness of the energy issues we face today and the importance of personal accountability in reducing consumption. Throughout the year, the Energy Team will provide training to new facility managers by identifying actions they can take within their department to reduce usage of energy. Increasing awareness and reducing consumption of our Cannon resources is an ongoing effort. Please do your part in being conscious of your energy usage and hold yourself personally accountable for reducing the energy you use. A personal energy audit will soon be available for you to complete in order to estimate your energy footprint. If you have questions or comments, contact The Energy Team via email at 27SOCES.CEAEnergy@cannon.af.mil.