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  • Increasing Energy Efficiency and Reducing Costs in Federal Buildings

    Posted by Dan Tangherlini on May 18, 2012 at 2:47 PM EDT

    As part of GSA’s core responsibility of delivering savings to government agencies, GSA has awarded a contract with IBM to work with leaders in the building sciences industry to install low-cost, high-value, networked technologies in 50 of the federal government’s most energy intensive buildings. This smart building strategy will connect building management systems to a central, cloud-based platform, improving energy efficiency and saving up to $15 million in tax dollars annually.

    Under the terms of the contract, IBM will develop an innovative system to monitor, in real-time, building performance nationwide and stream data to a central facility.  This, in turn, will give employees and building managers useful information on building operations allowing for faster analysis and more informed decision-making. Additionally, when the system is fully integrated, the buildings’ tenants and managers will be able to view the performance of their buildings on public dashboards with analysis on energy savings and recommendations on how to further increase efficiencies.

    As additional federal buildings are constructed and other facilities are upgraded, those buildings will also be managed with this platform. We expect that this initiative will keep buildings performing at peak efficiency and increase cost savings across the federal portfolio.

    GSA’s plan to meet the requirements of President Obama’s Executive Order on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance (EO13514) includes a goal of reducing energy consumption in federal buildings by 30 percent by 2015. Smart building technology is yet another approach that GSA is taking to increase performance and decrease costs in government buildings. It’s clear that this GSA initiative will begin a new chapter in energy efficient strategies that will deliver important savings to the taxpayer.

    For additional information on GSA’s smart building efforts please visit: gsa.gov/smartbuildings.

    Dan Tangherlini is Acting Administrator of the General Services Administration.

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  • Environmental Justice: From Strategic Planning to Action

    Posted by Gary S. Guzy on May 17, 2012 at 10:49 AM EDT

    What does it take to integrate environmental justice principles into our programs and services? 

    The answers poured in enthusiastically from senior officials across the Federal Government at a recent special Deputy Secretary-level meeting of the Environmental Justice Interagency Working Group. I hosted this meeting along with U.S. EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe to mark the completion of an historic strategic planning effort.

    Building on the Obama Administration's commitment to strong environmental and health protections for all Americans, Federal agencies and offices have been revisiting and re-invigorating their approach to environmental justice. We set out our roadmap for concerted Federal Government action last year in an interagency Memorandum of Understanding, in which agencies committed to publishing environmental justice strategies and annual progress reports on their implementation of those strategies. When the deputies gathered at our meeting, the final strategies had just been released. To ensure their relevance and rigorous implementation, the strategies reflect public input, and they focus on engraining environmental justice principles in core Government practices and programs. 

    We agreed it was time to transition from strategic planning to action. As a Working Group, we decided that  to succeed, we must prioritize our actions and leverage existing resources as much as possible, including through developing and expanding public-private partnerships and sharing best practices across agencies. I jotted down the following examples to give you a sense of what this means in practice:

    • Deputy Secretary David Hayes described the Department of the Interior's work with private companies to help provide renewable energy to remote Native Alaskan communities.
    • Assistant Secretary Howard Koh from the Department of Health and Human Services indicated that the health impact assessment tools that the Department is developing will enable federal decision-makers across the Government to identify and consider public health impacts, including those that disproportionately apply to low-income and minority communities.
    • The Department of Energy and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are developing staff and stakeholder training on environmental justice principles which may be applicable to other Federal offices as well.

    As someone who worked in the Federal Government when we first began considering environmental justice principles two decades ago, I am heartened by where we are headed today. With newfound direction and momentum, we are answering the call for systematic and durable applications of environmental justice principles to our programs and services, so we can see meaningful results.   

    Gary S. Guzy is Deputy Director of the Council on Environmental Quality

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  • Valuable Support for Maritime Industries

    Posted by Timothy W. Janaitis on May 16, 2012 at 12:55 PM EDT

    Editor's Note: This blog introduces readers to Timothy W. Janaitis, Director of Business Development for global underwater services company Phoenix International Holdings, Inc., which provides 225 American jobs.

    As a global underwater services company, Phoenix International depends on our oceans. One of our internationally recognized missions took place last spring when we located and recovered both black boxes from Air France Flight 447, an aircraft that had crashed in 13,000 feet of water in the Atlantic two years earlier. We are currently preparing to launch a mission to search for, and ideally recover, the airplane of pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart lost in the South Pacific 75 years ago.

    On a broader scale, our company provides underwater operations, engineering and construction support to those who have economic, environmental and cultural interests in the oceans. We see new business opportunities in areas such as the emerging offshore renewable energy industry. Development of this and other offshore industries represents significant growth potential for us.

    So it is with great frustration that we see companies departing the renewable market due, in part, to a lack of clear ground rules in federal waters that slows the level and pace of project approvals. Clearly, we need a consistent framework in which investors and developers can propose and bring their technologies offshore as quickly and safely as possible within the established guidelines. This requires a sensible regulatory environment, and cooperation among all interested parties, including agencies and stakeholders.

    The National Ocean Policy provides the needed framework to stimulate job creation and economic growth, not only at Phoenix International, but at other ocean dependent businesses and organizations as well. All Americans have an interest in healthy oceans, and thriving ocean industries. Citizens who have diverse -- and sometimes conflicting -- interests and needs must have a process that allows for constructive dialogue, so they can find solutions. Only in this way can consistent ground rules and processes be established that allow energy and other offshore developers to have their proposed initiatives expeditiously and properly evaluated. The National Ocean Policy and the work of the Regional Planning Bodies allow for such representation and decision-making, and should be embraced as valuable support for maritime industries. 

    Timothy W. Janaitis is Director of Business Development for Phoenix International Holdings, Inc.

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  • All-of-the-Above, In Action

    Posted by Ken Salazar on May 9, 2012 at 8:09 AM EDT

    President Obama has made it clear that our country needs an all-of-the-above strategy to develop American energy – energy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and generates new jobs for Americans.

    On Tuesday, we took another major step forward in President Obama’s commitment to responsibly expand development of America’s abundant natural gas resources by approving the Greater Natural Buttes gas development project in Utah.

    This project, proposed by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, could produce more than six trillion cubic feet of natural gas over its life, support more than 4,000 American jobs during the different phases of development, and infuse millions of dollars into local Utah communities.

    The project is a model for a balanced approach to energy development: by using innovative technologies and best practices, the project will limit new surface disturbance to just five percent of the area. And, as part of a landmark cooperative agreement with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Anadarko will drill the 3,600 new wells while safeguarding air quality and ensuring the protection of critical wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation values.

    Today’s announcement exemplifies the kind of progress we are making as part of the Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy. In 2011, U.S. natural gas production grew by more than 7 percent – the largest year-over-year increase in history. U.S. gas production is now at an all-time high and oil production is at an eight-year high. And America’s dependence on foreign oil has gone down every single year since President Obama took office; we have cut net imports by ten percent – or a million barrels a day – in the last year alone.

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  • Smart Steps on Natural Gas

    Posted by Heather Zichal on May 4, 2012 at 4:31 PM EDT

    Since taking office, President Obama has supported an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy. A strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.

    As part of that effort, the Administration has focused on expanding production of natural gas. After all, we have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly 100 years. And this Administration will continue to take steps to develop this energy resource in a way that can help fuel our economy and, according to industry experts, support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade.

    Last year, U.S. natural gas production grew by more than 7 percent in 2011 – the largest year-over-year volumetric increase in history – and easily eclipsed the previous production record set in 1973. As we produce more of this resource in the years ahead, its potential to power everything from our trucks to our factories only grows, while at the same time reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

    At the same time, it’s imperative that we develop our natural gas resources in a safe and responsible way. For the Administration, this is a top priority.

    So today – following through on a promise that the President made in his State of the Union address – the Department of Interior (DOI) has proposed a rule that will require companies to publicly disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations on public and Indian trust lands.

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  • Supporting our Troops with Better Energy Options

    Posted by Frank Kendall on May 3, 2012 at 1:43 PM EDT

    Last night, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta addressed an Environmental Defense Fund reception in honor of the Department of Defense's leadership in advancing our nation’s security though transformative 21st century clean energy and environmental initiatives. 

    He remarked that from a security and financial perspective, we have a deep commitment to finding better energy options. For example, reducing the amount of fuel used by our equipment translates to fewer loads for supply convoys, which insurgents have targeted in places like Afghanistan. And the less we spend on fuel and energy, the more we have for other critical defense priorities. That's why, next year, DoD will invest almost $3 billion in energy efficiency and renewable energy. You can read Secretary Panetta’s remarks here.

    For our combat forces, we're investing in better generators and microgrids for our combat bases, hybrid engines for ships and vehicles, and more efficient aircraft. While some of these investments are long-term, many will result in immediate returns. For example, the Marine Corps’ Experimental Forward Operating Base (ExFOB) has been testing energy efficient and renewable technologies that make the Marines more flexible, agile, and lethal. 

    The Marine Corps KickOff Their 2012 Experimental Forward Operating Base initiative at Camp LeJeune, NC

    The Marine Corps kicked off their 2012 Experimental Forward Operating Base initiative at Camp LeJeune, NC on May 2 with Assistant Secretary of Defense Sharon Burke. Marines across Afghanistan are using energy efficient and renewable technologies to become more flexible, agile, and lethal. (Photo from the US Marine Corps)

    3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment deployed in 2010 with first generation ExFOB gear. The results spoke for themselves. The Marines operated two patrol bases solely on renewable energy, reduced energy use by 90 percent at a third base, and executed a three-week foot patrol without battery resupply, reducing load on Marines by 700 lbs. In less than a year, technologies demonstrated at this first ExFOB were deployed widely to combat forces in Afghanistan.

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