Air Force celebrates "facility energy" initiatives this Earth Day Published April 15, 2010 By Jennifer Elmore Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency TYNDALL AFB, Fla. -- This year the Air Force joins millions of people across the country and around the globe in celebrating 40 years of Earth Day. Celebrated April 22, Earth Day promotes awareness and appreciation for the environment. The old slogan, "make every day Earth Day" is exemplified in the Air Force Civil Engineer's plan for transformation where we are charged, among many things, to build sustainable installations and integrate energy and environmental considerations in how we work, live, and play. This summer the Air Force becomes the first in the United States and in the Department of Defense to operate a transportable plasma Waste-2-Energy System Facility to benefit the environment and create energy. The facility, under construction at Hurlburt Field, Fla., will produce electrical energy and marketable byproducts from garbage using patented plasma arc technology. W2E uses the intense heat of plasma to gasify and vitrify virtually any type of waste, with no harmful pollutants. The syngas produced is consumed in a motor generator to produce electricity and hot water. Travis AFB, Calif., has emerged as an Air Force showcase for the implementation of green and sustainable remediation. Three recent initiatives by the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment located at Port San Antonio, Texas, significantly reduced the carbon footprint of Travis' groundwater remediation systems while promoting green and sustainable approaches for the treatment of chlorinated solvents. These initiatives have gathered endorsements and positive feedback from the Environmental Protection Agency and the State of California. Tyndall opens the doors to its new state-of-the art fitness center in June. It's one of the Air Force's "green" energy demonstration projects and is on target to become the first facility in the DoD to reach the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum level, the highest ranking possible under the group's green building rating system. The new $16.6 million gym is three times bigger than the current fitness center but will use 20 percent less energy. The Air Force Facility Energy Center located at the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency, Tyndall AFB, Fla., has helped implement approximately 34 on-base renewable energy projects with many more either programmed to be funded and constructed or identified to be further studied. Luke Air Force Base plans to host a solar array on 116 acres that will generate 17 megawatts of electricity by December 2011. In addition, as many as 20 new photovoltaic projects could be built on Air Force bases by 2015. Wind turbines are in operation on four bases with seven more installations under consideration for wind power during the next five years. Engineers at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., are in talks with the local utility to build up to 24 wind turbines. To put this project in perspective, it would produce up to five times more energy than currently generated by 700 solar panels at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The Air Force is proud to celebrate our daily commitment to sustaining the mission through green innovation. As we maintain dominance in air, space and cyberspace, we take to heart the responsibility to do so with keen awareness of the environment in which we train and live.