Liberty Wing ready for Energy Awareness Month Published Oct. 14, 2010 48th Fighter Wing Staff Report ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England -- Summer has come to a close, which means that the temperature is dropping and the available daylight is decreasing. This means that everyone will have to do their part to conserve energy, but if you think you pay a lot for energy, imagine paying RAF Lakenheath's bill of nearly $850,000 for the month of October 2009. It's money that could be spent on our Airmen, their readiness or our weapons systems. October is Energy Awareness Month. Since 1991, the Department of Energy has used this month to kick off its annual energy awareness campaign, promoting efficient use of energy. This year's theme, A New Culture: Energy as an Operations Enabler, highlights the use of renewable resources and energy conservation measures, and places an emphasis on increased energy security. The federal government is the largest consumer of energy in the U.S.; the Department of Defense is the largest consumer of energy within the federal government; and finally, the Air Force is the largest consumer of energy within the DoD. Thus, the Air Force has the most potential for savings; not only in the area of aviation fuel, but also in facility energy conservation. This year's theme further supports the Air Force's overall mission to fly, fight, and win, and reinforces its energy strategy of reducing demand, increasing supply and culture change. RAF Lakenheath has an objective to reduce energy intensity by 3 percent a year from fiscal year 2003 and a cumulative goal of 30 percent reduction by FY 2015. Last year RAF Lakenheath was able to reduce energy by almost 16 percent. The energy team has many projects in the works such as upgrading lighting to energy-efficient fixtures. However, it's going to take teamwork and discipline. Each of us has an important part to play in conserving energy. For example, turn off interior lights at the end of the work day or when they are not needed, and replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Computer monitors, printers, scanners and other office equipment can be turned off at the end of each work day, although desktop computers connected to the network must remain on for security updates. Use of personal appliances, such as coffee makers, refrigerators and microwaves should be minimized to the fullest extent and consolidated to break rooms only. When looking for new appliances, purchase only Energy Star-rated products. Refer to the Energy Star Web site, www.energystar.gov, for a list of qualified products. (Rob Warder and Corey Norcross, RAF Lakenheath Energy Team, contributed to this story).