The General Services Administration is out to show that even a relatively new building can become more energy efficient. GSA is seeking a contractor to make a number of energy-savings improvements to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, which opened in 1997. GSA plans to install high-performance heating and air conditioning systems, tune up building system controls such as motors and sensors, and install more energy-efficient lighting. The GSA-owned facility already adheres to green building practices such as using sustainable landscaping, recycling, giving procurement preference to green products and encouraging employees to commute to work using public transportation or…
Browsing: Energy management
When I polled the 15 Cabinet departments for a March 8 article detailing the government’s carbon footprint and plans to reduce it, one department failed to respond: the Health and Human Services Department. Now, I think I understand why. According to information just provided to me by the department, HHS has set a goal to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 10.4 percent by 2020, compared to a 2008 baseline of more than 1.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents. HHS’ target is lower than that of any other Cabinet department and much lower than the governmentwide average of 28…
The Energy Department’s Federal Energy Management Program is offering free online training sessions to help federal energy and environmental professionals learn the basics about cutting energy consumption in their facilities and operations. The sessions, held the first Thursday of each month, will discuss requirements to report greenhouse gas emissions, install advanced electrical meters on facilities, cut water consumption and make existing buildings more energy efficient, among others. The 90-minute sessions will be offered live via satellite or through streaming video at your desktop. Registrations are now being accepted online. The first session was an overview of the executive order President Obama issued in…
Five percent of the energy federal agencies use this year must come from renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass, under the 2005 Energy Policy Act. That’s up from 3 percent in 2009. To help agencies get there, the Environmental Protection Agency has a nifty mapping tool on its website that lists available green power resources by state and links to the utility companies’ websites. The nation’s capital, for instance, has six options that include wind or landfill gas in the energy mix. California offers a dozen green power alternatives, including energy generated by wind, solar, water and landfill gas.…