Green Buildings

  • The National Park Service is putting in place 81 energy efficiency and water conservation projects in parks throughout the D.C. metropolitan area. Lisa Mendelson is the Acting Regional Director for the National Capital Region at the National Park Service. She joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with details the scope of the project that will install new intelligent bulbs, sprinklers and solar power across the region's hundreds of parks and landmarks in 2015.

    December 04, 2014
  • Green investments to federal buildings are showing double-digit energy savings, according to the General Services Administration. They're looking at the effects of some energy upgrades. Ruth Cox is a senior sustainability official, and Walter Tersch is a program analyst at the General Services Administration. On In Depth with Francis Rose, they broke down the success of the green updates.

    November 12, 2014
  • The government wants to go green and it's soliciting employee suggestions to help do it. It's a top-to-bottom effort though, as federal agencies also released their annual sustainability plans and the President announced a new GreenGov Symposium.

    November 04, 2014
  • By the end of next year, the Army will install advanced electric meters at most of its large buildings, giving the service much more detailed data on how it uses energy than it's ever seen before.

    October 23, 2014
  • The Army says the alternative and renewable energy industry should not look to the military as a giant source of investment capital for new technologies. But there are a few exceptions to that rule.

    August 01, 2014
  • Agencies released sustainability scorecards showing progress toward green goals. Overall, agencies have exceeded goals and reduced greenhouse gases, pollution and waste and increased renewables.

    July 28, 2014
  • The General Services Administration's Net-Zero Energy Task Group is planning to produce a draft letter with clear goals and guidance for net-zero energy buildings by this September.

    July 10, 2014
  • The U.S. Postal Service is looking at greener, more efficient vehicle options while waiting for funds to replace its outdated fleet.

    June 30, 2014
  • The Postal Service's mail delivery vehicles are in dire need of replacement, but the agency doesn't have enough money to buy a new fleet. In a new report, the USPS Inspector General said the agency's current fleet will only allow it to sustain delivery operations through fiscal 2017.

    June 17, 2014
  • The Army broke ground last week on what will become the Defense Department's largest solar energy project ever. The Fort Huachuca, Ariz., solar project will provide the Army with renewable energy at no additional cost to the government. As Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu reports, the Army sets aside dozens of acres of southern Arizona land for the solar panels. In exchange for the land, a local utility company will build and operate them. Read Federal News Radio's related article.

    April 29, 2014
  • The Fort Huachuca, Ariz., solar project will provide the Army with renewable energy at no additional cost to the government. The solar panels are expected to provide 18 megawatts of electricity, enough to light a small-sized city.

    April 29, 2014
  • The Army breaks ground Friday on a giant solar array at sunny Fort Huachuca in Arizona. Once built, it will provide about a quarter of the energy needed to power the mid-sized base. It will be the largest solar project in the military's portfolio for a while. Amanda Simpson, executive director for the U.S. Army's Energy Initiatives Task Force, described the scope of the project to Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp.

    April 25, 2014
  • Dennis McGinn, assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment, says the pursuit of renewable energy is not just about the Navy "going green." It supports the mission.

    April 23, 2014
  • President Barack Obama wants the government to lead by example. He asks agencies to triple their use of renewable electricity sources by 2020 and get at least one-fifth of their energy from renewables. Willie Taylor, director of the Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance at the Interior Department, explained to Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp how his agency plans to meet the goal.

    April 23, 2014