By SUSANNE M. SCHAFER
COLUMBIA -- The South Carolina National Guard is replacing drafty windows, updating aged heating and air conditioning units and asking soldiers and airmen to police power usage in an attempt to conserve energy.
Guard officials say the effort at armories, training sites and headquarters buildings has slashed more than $300,000 from its energy costs over the past four years.
"It really cut our costs," said Lt. Col. Larry Peeples, the management officer in charge of construction and facilities for the Guard.
The state's Army and Air National Guard units have about 11,000 members, and they are attached to units located in about 66 communities across the state.
In a recent interview, Peeples said the effort began several years ago when energy costs were spiking and as the Pentagon was urging active duty military, Guard and Reserve units to start conservation efforts. The budget is now at $2.2 million after spiking at about $2.5 million, he said.
Peeples said the investments should continue to reap benefits for at least 10 years.
"We fundamentally have to change the way we do business," Maj. Gen. Lester Eisner, the Guard's No. 2 commander, said in a recent interview. "Our budgets are shrinking. But it's also the right thing to do."
Eisner said the Guard has been trying to be more conservative in its energy usage and adopt methods of using less fuel, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and adopting recycling methods. He spoke at a recent conference at the University of South Carolina, where the two organizations are trying to work with local industry to pursue energy efficiencies.
"Not only does this reduce our operating costs, but we want to have less of an impact on the environment," Eisner said.
The Guard's armories, headquarters and training sites cover about 3.5 million square feet and stretch over 17,000 acres, Eisner said.
There are 69 unit homes known as "readiness centers," 13 field maintenance sites, a site where Guardsmen train with heavy equipment and a support maintenance shop. The Guard also manages an aviation support facility for its helicopters, four troop training sites and the air base for the 169th Fighter Wing's F-16 jets at McEntire Joint National Guard Base outside Eastover.
Peeples said the Guard has completed about $15 million in energy-related renovations but still has about $39 million worth of repairs that have not yet been funded. Some $12.5 million of the $15 million was paid for by the federal government, and the remainder with state funds, Peeples said.
The federal government bore the larger portion because the South Carolina units where the renovations were made are part of a federal homeland defense mission, the engineering officer said.
Another energy-saving step has been to have full-time Guard units work longer daily schedules Tuesday through Friday twice a month, and then close their unit buildings from Friday evening to Tuesday morning.
That reduces heating or air conditioning needs twice a month, officials said.
Eisner said that because Guard members come from surrounding communities, soldiers and airmen embrace the idea of lessening the military's potential impact on a community.
The Guard is the fifth-largest employer in South Carolina. Its members and units have about a $1.1 billion impact on the state's economy, according to an economic study by Clemson University.
As the military takes more action to conserve energy, it will in turn influence the community, the general said.
"As we institutionalize sustainability, it will change the culture," Eisner said.
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COLUMBIA -- The South Carolina National Guard is replacing drafty windows, updating aged heating and air conditioning units and asking soldiers and airmen to police power usage in an attempt to conserve energy.
Guard officials say the effort at armories, training sites and headquarters buildings has slashed more than $300,000 from its energy costs over the past four years.
"It really cut our costs," said Lt. Col. Larry Peeples, the management officer in charge of construction and facilities for the Guard.
The state's Army and Air National Guard units have about 11,000 members, and they are attached to units located in about 66 communities across the state.
In a recent interview, Peeples said the effort began several years ago when energy costs were spiking and as the Pentagon was urging active duty military, Guard and Reserve units to start conservation efforts. The budget is now at $2.2 million after spiking at about $2.5 million, he said.
Peeples said the investments should continue to reap benefits for at least 10 years.
"We fundamentally have to change the way we do business," Maj. Gen. Lester Eisner, the Guard's No. 2 commander, said in a recent interview. "Our budgets are shrinking. But it's also the right thing to do."
Eisner said the Guard has been trying to be more conservative in its energy usage and adopt methods of using less fuel, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and adopting recycling methods. He spoke at a recent conference at the University of South Carolina, where the two organizations are trying to work with local industry to pursue energy efficiencies.
"Not only does this reduce our operating costs, but we want to have less of an impact on the environment," Eisner said.
The Guard's armories, headquarters and training sites cover about 3.5 million square feet and stretch over 17,000 acres, Eisner said.
There are 69 unit homes known as "readiness centers," 13 field maintenance sites, a site where Guardsmen train with heavy equipment and a support maintenance shop. The Guard also manages an aviation support facility for its helicopters, four troop training sites and the air base for the 169th Fighter Wing's F-16 jets at McEntire Joint National Guard Base outside Eastover.
Peeples said the Guard has completed about $15 million in energy-related renovations but still has about $39 million worth of repairs that have not yet been funded. Some $12.5 million of the $15 million was paid for by the federal government, and the remainder with state funds, Peeples said.
The federal government bore the larger portion because the South Carolina units where the renovations were made are part of a federal homeland defense mission, the engineering officer said.
Another energy-saving step has been to have full-time Guard units work longer daily schedules Tuesday through Friday twice a month, and then close their unit buildings from Friday evening to Tuesday morning.
That reduces heating or air conditioning needs twice a month, officials said.
Eisner said that because Guard members come from surrounding communities, soldiers and airmen embrace the idea of lessening the military's potential impact on a community.
The Guard is the fifth-largest employer in South Carolina. Its members and units have about a $1.1 billion impact on the state's economy, according to an economic study by Clemson University.
As the military takes more action to conserve energy, it will in turn influence the community, the general said.
"As we institutionalize sustainability, it will change the culture," Eisner said.