Army heeds Obama call, attacks high energy bills
Improving the energy efficiency of buildings is generally considered to be one of the most practical ways that a property owner can cut the cost of lighting, heating and cooling. Now, the U.S. Army is demonstrating in spades the pragmatism of such moves as it surpasses the $1 billion mark in responding to a 2014 challenge by President Obama to all federal agencies to achieve $4 billion in energy savings performance contracts by December.
“The Army has almost 200,000 building structures and well over 1 billion square feet” of space, said Richard Kidd, until recently the Army’s deputy assistant secretary for energy and sustainability. “We pay the largest utility bills in the country.”
In 2011, Obama asked agencies to take advantage of energy savings performance contracts, which enable them to launch projects without the need for money appropriated by Congress. Two years later, he doubled the amount to $4 billion by the end of 2016.
Under such contracts, a utility or energy services company assesses a facility’s energy needs and provides upfront funding to make improvements. In return, the agency that owns the site pays back the provider over a period of time with a portion of the savings resulting from the upgrades.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/2016/08/14/army-heeds-obama-call-attacks-high-energy-bills/88622040/
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