Infrastructure initiative grows beyond decreasing energy costs Published March 26, 2010 By Kendahl Johnson 78 ABW/PA ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The Warner Robins Air Logistics Center initiative of improving infrastructure to help it deliver airpower is starting to gain serious momentum throughout the base. Initially, the initiative focused solely on decreasing energy consumption. The installation put up electric meters to allow facility managers and unit leaders to track their organizations' energy consumption on a real-time basis. But, base personnel are now vigilantly looking for other projects to make better use of resources. The Air Force's Advanced Power Technology Office recently installed a solar panel behind Bldg. 359 which produces up to 25 kilowatts of electricity. The power it generates goes directly to the base power grid and offsets power used by a newly-installed hydrogen fuel production/refueling station. The 78th Civil Engineer Group is also busy developing a number of other environmentally-sound projects aimed at protecting both existing and future infrastructure, like Low Impact Development, or LID. As parking lots, buildings and homes are constructed on the base, green spaces are slowly disappearing on Robins. The aim of LID projects is to reduce the impact this causes by decreasing the volume of stormwater runoff. LID projects also improve water quality. "With the increase in impervious surfaces comes an increase in runoff generated from rainfall, as open green spaces are not available to absorb the runoff," said Russell Adams, water quality program manager at Robins. "If the quantity of runoff exceeds the capacity of the available stormwater infrastructure, roads, parking lots, and potentially buildings and homes may be flooded." One of the first and most visible LID projects is a new 22-vehicle parking lot at Bldg. 359 which is all grass, with a stone and gravel drainage system constructed underneath to ensure cars can park there in rainy weather without getting stuck, or even muddy. The infrastructure initiative is part of P3I, which has four focus areas - People, Process, Performance and Infrastructure.