Chris Balbach, Vice President for Research and Development at Performance Systems Development (PSD), is traveling to Japan to deliver energy efficiency training at Camp Foster, a U.S. Marine Corps base on the island of Okinawa. The United States Pacific Command, which oversees a territory that covers almost half the earth’s surface and which is the oldest and largest of the U.S. unified commands, requested the training. Armed forces personnel from neighboring facilities will also attend the 5-day session.The Federal Government is the single largest user of the energy in the nation. In 2007, in an effort to “green” the government, Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA). The law requires an overall energy reduction of thirty percent in federal buildings by the end of 2015. Each year, twenty-five percent of selected facilities must be audited to identify problem areas for each building and to offer recommendations for improvement. PSD’s training will provide the necessary qualifications for government personnel to meet the requirements outlined in the law. “The Department of Defense and its Pacific Command are challenged to meet stringent energy reduction goals set forth in EISA,” says Balbach. “It is an honor to travel to Japan and help military personnel increase the energy efficiency in these facilities.” While in Japan, Balbach will conduct in-class training sessions and lead fieldwork exercises focusing on the application of specific energy efficiency and renewable energy opportunities. Upon completion of the training, facility personnel will be qualified to audit their buildings and implement energy conservation measures. The Pacific Command chose Camp Foster as its site for the PSD-led energy efficiency training because the large concentration of military and civilian personnel based in Japan allows the Department of Defense to effectively train a number of staff in a central location. Performance Systems Development is one of only three companies in the nation to be selected by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to provide Energy Assessment Training to government personnel at federal sites. NREL is the Department of Energy’s primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. Earlier this year, PSD completed instruction at a U.S. Department of Agriculture’s facility in Maryland, the Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska, and the Architect of the Capitol’s Senate and General Services Administration buildings in Washington, DC. PSD’s training sessions are funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. “Performance Systems Development is pleased to have earned the opportunity to help the federal government realize its ambitious standards for energy efficiency,” says Greg Thomas, CEO and founder of PSD. “Our systems for measuring the actual success of improvements will lead the way to higher performing federal facilities.”
