Air Force base saluted for ardently going green

ABILENE, Texas — The largest employer in this city on a long stretch of West Texas uses methane gas from a landfill to power its buildings, pipes slushy ice through barracks for air conditioning and uses effluent to water the landscape.

It is probably the greenest employer in Abilene, using a two-headed approach of reducing energy consumption and investing in environmentally friendly utilities in an area where the bread and butter is oil and gas.

The employer is the U.S. Air Force, which stations 4,300 airmen at Dyess Air Force Base to fly and maintain the futuristic B-1 bomber.

"They are a model among military installations around the country and are in many ways serving as a laboratory for trying out new ideas," said Tom "Smitty" Smith, director of the Texas office of Public Citizen, a consumer and environmental group.

Once one of the most environmentally unfriendly landholders in the country, with dozens of bases contaminated by fuels, solvents and radiological material, the military is increasingly going green as it cleans up its past mistakes and works to avoid future sins.

And no installation in the Defense Department's vast inventory has been more out front than Dyess. Perhaps nothing illustrates that better than the base commander's thoughts on "green energy."

"You could probably find cheaper energy, but it's not the right thing to do for the environment," said Col. Timothy Ray, a bomber pilot who took command of Dyess in 2006.

Dyess, home to 69 aircraft and 1,000 buildings, has received 15 major awards, among them the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Leadership Award. The base is also a frequent stop for big shots from the Air Force, Defense Department and Energy Department.

The driving force behind Dyess' initiatives is Tom Denslow, a fast-talking New Yorker who has led the utilities and energy departments for 14 years. He is constantly scouring for ways to reduce consumption, save money and go green.

Most important, he has consistently impressed the base commanders who rotate through Abilene.

"I love innovation," Ray said. "It was a pleasant surprise to walk in and find Tom Denslow. When you find innovators like that who will knock down problems, you have to take care of them."

Among the environmentally friendly measures Dyess has taken in recent years:

• The base purchases effluent — water that is purified, but not enough to drink — for its landscaping. Potable water from the city of Abilene costs the base $2.40 per 1,000 gallons. Effluent costs the base 45 cents per 1,000 gallons.

The savings this year are estimated at $380,000.

"When we did that, we cut the city's water usage by 2 percent, by ourselves," Denslow said.

• The base installed a type of skylight in eight aircraft hangars, reducing the amount of artificial light needed during the day. It also replaced old lights with fixtures that allow dimming. Both measures resulted in an annual savings of nearly $300,000.

• The base reduced its electric consumption by 10 percent from fiscal year 2006 to 2007 and 19 percent compared with the late 1990s.

The reduction in kilowatt-hours came largely through Ray's tough-love approach to lighting and air conditioning.

He instituted an energy policy that reduced lighting in many areas of the base and turned off air conditioning from March 1 to June 1; neither heat nor AC was allowed from Oct. 1 to Dec. 1.