SAVE Award 2011 Ideas

Roofing Projects for new government buildings and for Repairing existing government buildings is expensive, but it would Save a lot of money over time if we added Solar Panels at the same time as roof work is being contracted. The installation costs would be reduced greatly and the electrical savings would more than make up for the smaller construction cost over time and would lower our dependence on energy. It would... more »

Raise Taxes on Companies like NIKE that Outsource Work. Then offer tax advantages for companies that keep work in U.S. This could end our budget crisis with revenue it would bring in. We bring jobs to with companies that come back to U.S. with there jobs.

PV Paybacks are long especially if all costs are considered and not what is spent by the agency (subsidies just take money from other investment opportunities with potentially greater paybacks). With that said, if we are going to do it don't do it on roofs. We have enough problems with roofs and installing PV panels on them will probably make them worse. Also roof replacements become very expensive if PV panels must... more »

To become greener and to save on electricity, we should put solar panels on all government buildings. If there is electricity left over, we can sell it back into the "grid" for the city and actually make money.

PV solar is not economoincal in any part of the US except the South west, when you put all the cost together. Get Uncle Sam out of the Buisness of subisdizing an activity that does not make economic sense. We do not import any energy source that is converted into electirc power so this does not help our balance of payments or energy security.

We have several parking decks on our campus and no one wants to park on the top level since it is too hot in summer. If there are solar panels as a roof for the top level, it would be more pleasant to park and generate more energy/SAVE $$$ at the same time.

There is currently a lot of "green" rhetoric coming from the government these days, and I think it should put its money where its mouth is. My plan would have the current funds being used for subsidies and tax breaks in the energy markets should be diverted towards the purchase of green technologies (ie. smart grid, solar panels, wind turbines, etc.) at federal complexes. A purchase of this size would drive down the... more »

With our world today, our natural resources are diminishing, and we are trying to do what we can to reserve them.
Solar panels could be built, and save money spent on energy throughout time. Small solar panels can power small things throughout our facilities, if the government does not want to spend millions on huge solar panels. A great way to promote going green could be installing solar panels on the GEMS (Green Environmental... more »

Put solar power on all military dorms, and add heating to them as well. Not all government buildings are efficient in providing solar power, but the ones that are geographically located in areas feasible should be built with solar power panels.

I have heard that solar panels can reduce energy costs from between 50 to as much as 90 percent. This could end up being a huge savings if solar panels were installed on all government buildings. Not to mention the extra brownie points for "going green".

I work at an Airport for the TSA. The TSA controls various operations at the airport, and therefore has our 800 person staff stationed in many areas and locations including the checkpoints, baggage, lunchrooms, offices, the Jet Center, among others. All these areas and operations require a lot of power and Electric. The Government (TSA) pays a large portion of the power bill. The Airport usually closes operations between... more »