{"id":21808,"date":"2023-08-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=21808"},"modified":"2023-08-06T04:53:45","modified_gmt":"2023-08-06T04:53:45","slug":"afcec-plays-vital-role-in-daf-climate-plan-initiatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=21808","title":{"rendered":"AFCEC plays vital role in DAF climate plan initiatives"},"content":{"rendered":"
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JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) — \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Air Force Civil Engineer Center<\/a><\/strong> has a significant role in climate change initiatives<\/a><\/strong> intended to enhance resiliency at Air Force installations by addressing the risks severe weather poses to infrastructure, operational capabilities and readiness.<\/p>\n

The initiatives were outlined in the Department of the Air Force Climate Campaign Plan<\/a><\/strong>. The plan breaks down the service\u2019s strategy with specific objectives and key results. It also describes detailed actions for offices of primary responsibility, identifies external stakeholders and provides timelines to achieve results.<\/p>\n

Released on July 11, the plan identifies three overarching priorities:<\/p>\n

\u2022 maintain air and space dominance in the face of climate risks<\/p>\n

\u2022 develop a climate-informed workforce whose decisions build a climate resilient force and reduce climate risk<\/p>\n

\u2022 optimize energy use and pursue alternative energy sources.<\/p>\n

AFCEC, a primary subordinate unit of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center<\/a><\/strong>, is on pace to meet the climate plan\u2019s objectives. Some projects are now in operation at Air Force locations around the globe.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the initiatives in the plan involve our infrastructure, and we\u2019ve done a lot already,\u201d said Dr. Timothy Sullivan, chief of AFCEC\u2019s technical services division that develops the criteria for the building performance standards of Air Force facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cAFCEC recapitalizes facilities and manages construction for the Air Force,\u201d he said. \u201cConsequently, we\u2019re responsible for making sound, climate-informed investment decisions that make our facilities and infrastructure resilient and enhance mission readiness in the face of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his role, Sullivan represents the Air Force on a tri-services committee tasked with finding solutions to risks that climate change and the environment impose on the military.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working on pilot construction projects that incorporate passive design and net-zero design principles that not only enhance resiliency, but also minimize our negative impact on the global climate and the environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Passive design principles use the external climate to maintain a comfortable environment inside with minimal or no active lighting, heating, cooling or ventilation systems. Net-zero design elements rely on alternative energy sources, ideally reducing greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve completed installation energy plans and identified future projects,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cThe Air Force\u2019s goal is to reduce emissions 50% from 2008 levels by fiscal 2033 and achieve net-zero emissions by fiscal year 2046.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Air Force has incorporated solar energy<\/strong><\/a> at several installations and is moving forward with projects at other locations that will reduce reliance on fossil fuels and provide renewable, cleaner energy.<\/p>\n

The largest ground-mounted solar array project constructed on an Air Force installation sits on 2,600 acres at Edwards Air Force Base<\/a><\/strong>, California. The project was constructed by private industry under the Air Force\u2019s Enhanced Use Lease program<\/a><\/strong>. It\u2019s part of a larger, privately managed program that will displace an estimated 320,000 tons of carbon emissions annually.<\/p>\n

The Air Force is also collaborating with private industry to explore geothermal energy solutions. Two geothermal pilot projects<\/strong><\/a> are expected to start soon at Mountain Home AFB<\/strong><\/a>, Idaho, and Joint Base San Antonio<\/strong><\/a>. The projects rely on promising technologies that tap into trapped heat in rock below the Earth\u2019s surface, which will enable electric power production, according to the Department of Defense<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Other energy initiatives include the Green Latrine System and Waste Oil Boiler project that were initially developed by AFCEC\u2019s airbase technologies branch at Tyndall AFB<\/strong><\/a>, Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Green Latrine System<\/strong><\/a> is a containerized latrine system that operates exclusively on solar energy. Its design includes roof-mounted 3.4-kilowatt solar panels, a hybrid inverter, and an advanced energy storage system that will operate a sink, shower and toilet.<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe solar power it generates is enough to run a mini-split heating, ventilation and air conditioning system along with a light-emitting diode lighting system,\u201d said Reza Salavani, energy program manager. \u201cIt does not rely on a power grid, making it less vulnerable to an adversarial attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea of processing used oil to generate hot water emerged with the burden of handling hazardous waste oil at remote operating locations. AFCEC\u2019s Waste Oil Boiler solution can provide hot water for personal hygiene, cooking and laundry, as well as larger applications like vehicle wash racks, with minimal to no environmental impact, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency<\/strong><\/a> guidelines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese initiatives and others like them will fundamentally increase the resiliency of our facilities and installations, furthering their availability as power projection platforms that serve our nation,\u201d Sullivan said.<\/p>\n

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U.S. Air Force Logo<\/title><\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) — \u00a0 The Air Force Civil Engineer Center has a significant role in climate change initiatives intended to enhance resiliency at Air Force installations by addressing the risks severe weather poses to infrastructure, operational capabilities and readiness. The initiatives were outlined in the Department of the Air Force Climate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21808"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21811,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21808\/revisions\/21811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}