Wing 'green' cleans in efforts to make Mother Nature happy Published Oct. 13, 2011 By Keith Ender 934th Airlift Wing energy manager Minneapolis St. Paul ARS -- "It's not enough for our country to invent clean energy technologies, we have to make them and use them, too," said Steven Chu, United States Secretary of Energy. The 934th Airlift Wing has been working hard to emulate what Mr. Chu said above and, more importantly, make Mother Nature happy by reducing energy consumption, increasing energy efficiency, using renewable resources and reducing the base's environmental impact. Just look at the completed and ongoing projects below: Replacement of the central steam plant = less emissions This plant has been in operation since the 1940's. Boilers located in the central heating plant burned natural as well as jet engine fuel, similar to kerosene, and fuel oil. New high energy efficient boilers were installed in many base buildings and the natural gas fired boilers have lowered base greenhouse emissions and operated at a higher efficiency than the old central boilers. This resulted in emission reductions of: 79 percent sulfur dioxide, 38 percent nitrogen oxides, 35 percent carbon monoxide and greenhouse gas total CO2 equivalent of 37 percent. Removal of piping = reduced energy loss By removing more than a mile of steam and condensate piping in tunnels as well as heat exchangers reduced energy losses resulting in higher efficiency in heating the base buildings. This year's heating requirement was lowered by 34 percent due to this initiative. New lighting = less energy consumption Not only are the new LED lights of the large neon sign - the one at base operations which announces arriving and departing commercial air traffic travelers - more aesthetically pleasing, it has also reduced electrical consumption. Recycling concrete and asphalt = less landfill use Many tons of concrete and asphalt have been recycled from the aircraft parking apron, base roadways and parking lots. Recycling these materials reduces the need for energy consumption in the mining, transportation and production of them and reduces consumption of natural resources and landfill space. Installing better building materials = More effective systems There are several projects that have taken place this year where upgrades have saved a considerable amount of energy and money. Roofing replacement projects added extra thicknesses of insulation saving both cooling and heating energy costs. A window replacement project improved window insulation, and reduced air infiltration. HVAC projects used environmentally friendly refrigerant, high efficiency motors and variable speed drives on fans and refrigeration compressors. Shower heads in the lodging were replaced with low flow heads saving 21,000 gallons of water a month. While it is obvious from this laundry list of energy saving projects that the 934th AW has been busy trying to reduce its environmental footprint on the Earth, it takes more than the efforts of a few to make Mother Nature happy. It takes the help of everyone on base. October is Energy Awareness Month, be aware of the energy you use and save some for the next person.