Green construction standards adopted at Army posts.

• Author: Rusling, Matthew
• Position: Battlefield Energy

Army engineers are evaluating hundreds of construction projects to ensure that they meet "green" building standards, officials said.

The goal is to apply the LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design) rating system on all new construction--including barracks and office buildings--at U.S.-based Army installations, said Bob Sperberg, chief of facilities policy at the office of the Army assistant chief of staff for installation management.

In 2009, the designs of more than 900 buildings will be assessed according to LEED criteria, Sperberg said.

One major goal is to reduce electricity use, he said. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires federal buildings--including military facilities--to be 30 percent more energy efficient than their commercial counterparts.

Congress also mandated in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act that the military reduce its overall energy use by 3 percent per year and 30 percent during the next 10 years.

Sperberg said that since these efforts started in 2006, the service has achieved reductions of 10A percent.

The Army in October established a senior energy council that will work with the private sector to develop power-saving initiatives. The council will focus first on bases, hospitals and ammunition depots, said Paul Bollinger, deputy assistant to the secretary of the Army for energy and partnerships.

Among the efforts is the construction of two solar power facilities near Fort Irwin, Calif., in the Mojave Desert. The two plants will each collect up to 250 megawatts of electricity, Bollinger said.

That will not only provide Fort Irwin with power--it requires 30 megawatts--but will also supply electricity to nearby civilian communities.

At Fort Carson, Co., the Army has built a 12-acre solar power site to supply electricity to the entire post. Similar projects are under way at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Bollinger said the Army's strategy is not "one size fits all," as bases will adopt different solutions depending on their location. Those in sunny regions--nearly 40 in the United States--will likely tap solar power. Those in the Midwest will utilize wind power. And those near nuclear plants may use nuclear power, he said.

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For deployed units, the service is eyeing new technologies such as "micro grids"--electric grids that link many generators and cause some to shut down...