EPA’s 2008 green power
leadership award in the green power purchaser category goes to … the Air Force! Yes, according to a release issued yesterday by the service, the Air Force made an annual purchase of more than 899 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy resources for 54 bases, including biomass, wind, landfill gas, and solar purchases. This makes it the top federal government purchaser of green power and ranks it among the largest purchasers on EPA’s green power partnership list, according to the release. Kevin Billings, USAF’s acting assistant secretary for installations, environment, and logistics, accepted the award on behalf of the service earlier this month at a national renewable energy conference in Denver. “A key component of our [energy] strategy is the imperative to eliminate waste and conserve resources as well as seek new, alternative sources of energy,” he said. The Air Force, the largest consumer of energy in the federal government, won the EPA award once before, in 2004. In addition to its renewable power purchases, the service has also established renewable energy projects on its bases, including the largest solar array farm in the western hemisphere at Nellis AFB, Nev.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.