SECNAV Energy Conservation Awards Announced

The Secretary of the Navy has announced the Energy Conservation (ENCON) award winners for FY2002. These Navy and Marine Corps activities have been singled out for executing comprehensive conservation programs based on senior-level command involvement, well-staffed and trained energy teams, aggressive awareness campaigns, investigation and execution of innovative energy conservation measures, and consistent reduction in energy consumption. These award winners represent Navy activities, ships and Marine Corps bases. During FY 2002, Commander, Pacific Fleet (COMPAC) and Commander, Atlantic Fleet (COMLANT) ships, even during this high level operational era, avoided the consumption of many thousands of Mbtus of electricity, 937,000 barrels of fuel, and tons of pollution, easing the strain on natural resources and demand for new power plants. In ship operating terms, this translates to over 37,000 hours additional underway steaming hours. COMPAC and COMLANT Fleet ships alone saved $37,779,840 dollars using energy conservation initiatives provided by NAVSEA’s ENCON Team. The Navy’s ENCON Team was also praised for their conservation performance by a worldwide Federal award program conducted annually by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Federal Energy and Water Management Program (FEMP) and another by the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV). The official award announcements were made recently here in Washington, D.C. Acting Secretary of the Navy, H. T. Johnson, applauded the work of the energy winners, noting the strong and determined efforts by all Navy commands. “The winners have set new standards of excellence in energy management, serving as a model for federal facilities worldwide. You are all energy champions. I strongly encourage all Navy and Marine Corps activities and personnel to continue to be good stewards of energy and water by reducing consumption and implementing energy cost savings measures,” he said. The Department of the Navy (DON) is one of the most energy-intense Federal entities. Through the work of it’s energy teams, it has reduced its energy use by over 26 percent since 1985, saving more than a half-billion dollars, avoiding air and water pollution. The Navy is on track to reduce its energy use by 35% by 2010. The Navy’s ENCON Team, which won the White House Presidential Award in 2002, continues to stress the important role of the average sailor and engineer in energy conservation. Administered by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), the team uses an ongoing series of video teletraining (VTT) workshops and seminars to showcase energy conservation techniques to Navy activities worldwide. Shipboard ENCON Program Manager, Hasan Pehlivan, said “hundreds of men and women ashore and aboard ships worked hard to earn awards for their energy teams. But they’ve also brought determination to the goal of energy savings.”