APG receives top energy award

By RACHEL PONDER, APG NewsOctober 7, 2009

The Aberdeen Proving Ground Energy Action Team received the 31st Secretary of the Army Energy and Water Management Award at the GovEnergy Convention held in Providence, R.I., Aug. 9 through 12.

Due to the fact that most members were not able to attend the awards presentation, the APG Energy Action Team held a special presentation at their office on Aug. 24. Thomas Kuchar, director of Public Works and Tim McNamara, deputy to the Garrison commander, presented the award to the team.

Kuchar thanked the team, noting that all of the members of the team play a vital role in energy conservation, which ultimately saves the Army a significant amount of money.

"Saving money is big time business in the military," Kuchar said.

McNamara said that conserving energy and saving money are important concerns, especially important during times of war, when the nation's resources are stretched thin.

He added that energy conservation ultimately means that there is more money for the Warfighters.

"Energy is a strategic issue for the Army," McNamara said. "We are trying to minimize our dependence on foreign oils."

He added that energy conservation is everyone's responsibility at APG.

Devon Rust, an energy program coordinator, said that the APG Energy Action Team's work follows the government's mandate that federal agencies are required to reduce their consumption annually by 3 percent. Under Executive Order 132423 and Energy Independence and Security Act 2007, also known as EISA 2007, requires a 30 percent reduction in energy consumed by 2015.

Rust said that the APG Energy Action Team is using cutting edge technology to meet these goals.

This year the team started using an expert operations and maintenance system that integrates plant operations, fuel management and maintenance processes called Decision Support for Operations and Maintenance or DSOM.

"With this system we are able to monitor steam and electricity usage on post," Rust said.

Rust said the system can pinpoint energy leaks instantaneously.

"Previously these leaks could go undetected for long amounts of time which wasted money and energy," she said.

She added that the system prioritizes repairs so that bigger energy leaks can be repaired first.

Rust said that as a result, DSOM repairs are happening faster, and there is increased satisfaction with tenants on post.

Rust said that in the future the system will be able to monitor other forms of energy.

Ed Staats, a contract energy program coordinator and part of the team, added that the Energy Action Team is also working to raise awareness by having a post wide energy awareness campaign to encourage people to cut down on their energy consumption.

"This program is designed to keep the issue in front of people," he said. "We raise awareness by having articles in APG News and reaching out to everyone living and working on post through the Energy Champion program."

"We are not asking anyone to do anything that they would not normally do at home," Staats said, referring to energy conservation practices such as remembering to turn off a light when leaving a room.

Staats said that he is happy and surprised to have received the award. He added that regardless of winning the award he feels that the APG Energy Action Team is doing a superior job by using cutting edge technology like DSOM to significantly reducing energy consumption.

"The issue of reducing energy consumption is no longer an issue of just cost, it is about reducing our dependence on foreign oil, reversing the problem of climate change, and building a clean energy economy," he said.