The Environmental Protection Agency recognized the Air Force in its top 25 list of 2010 green power partners. USAF purchased or produced a total of 243.9 million kilowatt-hours of green power last year, according to the list, which came out last month. That makes the Air Force No. 1 in the Defense Department, No. 2 in the federal government, and No. 15 among EPA’s 1,300 green power partners for its use of renewable energy. More than six percent of all energy that Air Force facilities consume comes from green power, but that number is expected to spike to 10 percent by 2015. “This year we expect to begin construction on at least a dozen more renewable energy projects, including two new solar arrays in Arizona,” said Ken Gray, Air Force Facility Energy Center rates and renewables branch chief at Tyndall AFB, Fla. (Tyndall report by Jennifer Elmore)
Every year, Congress and the military debate which combat assets should head to the boneyard and which have more life left in them. Lawmakers often opt to keep Air Force systems that bring jobs to their districts, which complicates matters as the service looks to modernize and ditch certain platforms.…