{"id":256,"date":"2012-12-17T11:04:52","date_gmt":"2012-12-17T16:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/west-point-aiming-for-net-zero-energy-use.html"},"modified":"2012-12-17T11:04:52","modified_gmt":"2012-12-17T16:04:52","slug":"west-point-aiming-for-net-zero-energy-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/west-point-aiming-for-net-zero-energy-use.html","title":{"rendered":"West Point aiming for net zero energy use"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nU.S. Army is serious about solar, installing solar panels as a\n“very visible and a very recognizable part of\nour renewable energy initiative that can immediately click with the\ngeneral public”\nas it makes its military academy net zero, while\nencouraging cadets to become renewable energy leaders.\nHm, sounds like\n\nDecatur County with its solar industrial park<\/a>\nand what we could do here with\n\nsolar Lowndes High.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\nMike Strasser wrote Army PR 29 November 2012,\n\nSolar panels deliver new energy to West Point’s Net Zero initiative,<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\n

\nThe installation of solar panels on the roof of the Lichtenberg\nTennis Center\u2014780 panels, to be exact\u2014in recent weeks\nrepresents West Point’s continuing efforts to achieve energy\nsustainability.\n<\/p>\n

\nSince becoming a Net Zero Energy pilot installation last April, West\nPoint has been making strides toward the ultimate goal of producing\nas much energy as it uses by 2020. According to an environmental\nassessment for the U.S. Army Environmental Command and West Point\nGarrison, the installation currently generates less than .02 percent\nof the energy it consumes from renewable sources. Matt Talaber,\nDepartment of Public Works engineer and director, said the solar\npanels will be a step in the right direction.\n<\/p>\n

\n“The solar panels are very visible and a very recognizable part of\nour renewable energy initiative that can immediately click with the\ngeneral public,” Talaber said. “It’s a positive image that shows\nWest Point is interested in renewable energy and is working on its\nNet Zero energy goals.”\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nAnd they’re also improving conservation and efficiency.\nPlus this:\n<\/p>\n\n\n

\n

\n“When we renovate now we are much more sensitive to energy standards\nand new energy codes,” Talaber said. “But because we are Net Zero\nwe’ve tried to go above and beyond the simple things like glazing of\nwindows and building insulation. Part of our Energy Savings\nPerformance contract, the first one we had, the company is\nconducting work on behavioral change and getting the message out\nabout conservation.”\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nHm, going beyond the bare legally required minimum: there’s a concept!\n<\/p>\n

\nMike Strasser wrote 16 May 2012 for the Army,\n\nEnergy expert challenges cadets to become new energy leaders<\/a>,\nabout Michael Webber, Ph.D. visiting West Point from the U. Texas at Austin.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n\n<\/a>\n“So the good news is we share the world’s challenges with energy,\nwhich means we have opportunities for partnerships to solve it,”\nWebber said. “The difference being, we consume a fifth of the\nworld’s energy even though we’re three percent of the world’s\npopulation.”\n<\/p>\n

\nIf the bad news is the U.S. consumes 20 percent of the world’s\nenergy, what’s worse is we generate 20 percent of greenhouse gas\nemissions and 20 percent of the world’s trash.\n<\/p>\n

\nWebber offered his best guess on future trends and shifts in energy.\nHe said energy will get smarter, cleaner and it will be self-fueled\nfor transportation. What it will take to get there is energy\nefficiency, conservation, reducing waste, better markets and policy\nand fuel switching.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nI think he’s far too willing to treat the environment as something\nto trade off, and he’s not really recognizing how fast Moore’s Law\nwill increase solar deployments,\nbut at least he’s trying to get cadets to think seriously\nabout the problems.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n“We really need you. We need new energy leadership. The way I see\nit, this is your generation’s Cold War,” Webber said. “It’s going to\ntake decades to solve this, but in 30 years, 40 years, we’re going\nto look back and say, ‘Those cadets did it. They figured it out for\nus.’ That’s what we need from you, and I hope you take the call to\nrise to the challenge.”\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nGo Army cadets!\nAnd they’re not the only ones who can get on with figuring it out\nand doing something about it.\nWe can, too.\n<\/p>\n

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