Undersecretary talks about Air Force's energy plan at White House forum

by Master Sgt. Russell P. Petcoff
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

8/2/2010 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Undersecretary of the Air Force Erin Conaton described the service's work on energy reduction and the search for renewable sources of energy during a White House forum July 27.

At the White House Office of Energy and Climate-sponsored Clean Energy Forum, Ms. Conaton talked about the strategic, operational and financial impact fuel has on the Air Force and the Department of Defense. She also spoke of the steps Air Force officials have taken in developing alternative renewable and biomass energy sources.

"One, it's a strategic imperative," Ms. Conaton said. "Both President Obama and (Defense) Secretary (Robert) Gates have said time and again that this is a national security issue, and I think the military has heard that loud and clear."

Developing alternative energy sources is also an operational imperative, Ms. Conaton said.

"I think for all the services, and for DOD, this is about mission accomplishment," she said. "There are broader national goals at stake. But for us, the primary driver is making sure we can accomplish the mission on the battlefield and do it with the least risk to our service members in the process."

The financial impact that the cost of energy has for the nation, to include the DOD, also makes the alternative energy source issue an important one, Ms. Conaton said.

"We need to take every dollar possible that's available to the Department of Defense and put it toward force structure (and) modernizing weapon systems," Ms. Conaton said. "Every dollar of fuel that we save is good for the planet (and) good for the country, but also good for our services in terms of allowing us to reinvest those dollars elsewhere."

Air Force is taking small steps because those often lead to big leaps forward, the undersecretary said.

"We're looking at things in very simple terms, but I think the simple terms are what get us there," Ms. Conaton said. The goal is to "reduce the demand, increase the supply and change the culture of the Air Force in terms of how we think about energy."

The undersecretary offered a few examples of how Airmen are finding ways to reduce energy use.

"We have a number of really innovative leaders inside the Air Force, including those who are working out of our Air Mobility Command," said Ms. Conaton of the command officials who primarily operate the Air Force's largest aircraft. "They're doing really innovative, but simple, things like reducing aircraft weight, decreasing auxiliary power unit use and coordinating better with our foreign partners about the routings we use to make them more fuel efficient."

These measures and others have allowed the Air Force to reduce fossil fuel use by almost 9 percent since 2003 and reduce energy use on bases by nearly 15 percent.

In the area of renewable energy, Ms. Conaton said officials at Air Force bases are trying to use environmental factors abundant in their locales to generate energy.

For example, she cited the solar ray panels at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and the wind turbines at F. E. Warren AFB, Wyo. The solar photovoltaic system at Nellis AFB is the largest in North America.

"We're trying to take a targeted look at what types of bases could make use of what types of renewable energy and take that even further as we move forward," Ms. Conaton said.

The undersecretary also highlighted Air Force officials' moves to synthetic and biomass fuels. "On the demand side, we're looking very aggressively at alternative and biofuels," she said. "Some may not know, but back in 2006 we flew our first aircraft, a B-52 (Stratofortress), with a 50/50 blend of JP-8 and synthetic fuel."

Air Force officials have certified another eight airframes on the blended fuel, she added.

Working with community and industry leaders is another important way of trying to reduce energy demand and pursue renewable sources of energy, the undersecretary said.

Next month's energy forum in Nevada is designed to see "where there have been some concrete examples of local industry working with bases to make sure we've got compatible energy development projects," Ms. Conaton said.