MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni received the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Energy and Water Management Award via an All Navy Message (ALNAV) at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, Oct. 20, 2017.
The air station kept a gold installation status for the third year in a row for efficiently conserving energy.
The Utilities and Energy Management Division tracks the resources used by residents on the air station and submits the information to Headquarters Marine Corps to apply for the award.
U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Dustin Wooden, lead chief of utilities and energy management at MCAS Iwakuni, said collected data is reported quarterly and analyzed to create a plan to decrease energy used each year, but as the air station continues to expand, energy use is gearing towards meeting the needs of the installation.
“It covers areas of sustainment and growth,” said Wooden. “Whatever construction projects we are doing here on Iwakuni, we put into account and measure utilization of a new building and the intensity of which that building operates, and that’s what we put in our report.”
Wooden also said the community has grown drastically in their awareness from last year as construction continues on the station.
William E. Baker, Jr., director of utilities and energy management at MCAS Iwakuni, said the SECNAV Energy and Water Management Award also gives residents on base an idea of how the installation is progressing in energy conservation and how it helps the overall mission at MCAS Iwakuni.
“The utilities budget is ultimately a must-pay bill for the Marine Corps,” said Baker. “Whatever we consume we have no choice but to take that money out of our annual budget and spend it on utilities. For every dollar we save, that money is in the same operational budget as our installation’s, which means squadrons can use to it to increase their mission capabilities.”