Fort Hood Directorate of Public Works - Environmental

FORT HOOD, Texas -- The Fort Hood Chapel Complex and Religious Education Facility, has earned LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its sustainable and energy-efficient design and construction. This 40,000 square feet facility is the Army’s first LEED Gold certified chapel and will be awarded the certification at 10 a.m. Aug. 24 at building 320 off of Tank Destroyer and 31st Street.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.

The LEED rating system awards points based on dozens of variables for sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality for certification as LEED Certified, LEED Silver, LEED Gold, and LEED Platinum.

The chapel actually overachieved in its LEED ambitions and had set a goal of LEED Silver.  As the construction contractor, Solis and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were tracking everything, they realized the facility could fall into LEED Gold by earning one extra point in thermal control and verification without any additional cost to the project.

The chapel earned points for everything from efficient lighting, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems that will help cut its energy costs by 31 percent to low-flow toilets and sinks and waterless urinals that reduce potable water usage by 53 percent.

An eco-friendly car will lessen a driver’s carbon footprint but can also get you close to the chapel in one of its 18 preferred low-emitting and fuel efficient parking spaces.

The LEED standards also emphasize conserving resources. 

More than 85 percent of the construction waste was diverted from the landfill.  And 27 percent of the building materials used in the chapel’s construction was from recycled materials.

Currently across the Army, there are 157 LEED certified buildings.

Fort Hood’s Joint Air Ground Center and Warrior Transition Brigade Unit Operations facility are both LEED Silver and the new medical center currently under construction is planned to be LEED Gold.  The installation will continue incorporating sustainable design and development into construction projects to achieve the silver level and creating a more sustainable community.

FORT HOOD, Texas -- The Fort Hood Chapel Complex and Religious Education Facility, has earned LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its sustainable and energy-efficient design and construction. This 40,000 square feet facility is the Army’s first LEED Gold certified chapel and will be awarded the certification at 10 a.m. Aug. 24 at building 320 off of Tank Destroyer and 31st Street.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.

The LEED rating system awards points based on dozens of variables for sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality for certification as LEED Certified, LEED Silver, LEED Gold, and LEED Platinum.

The chapel actually overachieved in its LEED ambitions and had set a goal of LEED Silver.  As the construction contractor, Solis and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were tracking everything, they realized the facility could fall into LEED Gold by earning one extra point in thermal control and verification without any additional cost to the project.

The chapel earned points for everything from efficient lighting, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems that will help cut its energy costs by 31 percent to low-flow toilets and sinks and waterless urinals that reduce potable water usage by 53 percent.

An eco-friendly car will lessen a driver’s carbon footprint but can also get you close to the chapel in one of its 18 preferred low-emitting and fuel efficient parking spaces.

The LEED standards also emphasize conserving resources. 

More than 85 percent of the construction waste was diverted from the landfill.  And 27 percent of the building materials used in the chapel’s construction was from recycled materials.

Currently across the Army, there are 157 LEED certified buildings.

Fort Hood’s Joint Air Ground Center and Warrior Transition Brigade Unit Operations facility are both LEED Silver and the new medical center currently under construction is planned to be LEED Gold.  The installation will continue incorporating sustainable design and development into construction projects to achieve the silver level and creating a more sustainable community.

FORT HOOD, Texas -- Fort Hood will turn on the solar field at 3 p.m., Mar. 27 at the site east of Liberty Village and south of Johnson Drive. There will be ribbon cutting ceremony and tour of the solar field.

The field consists of 3,000 photovoltaic panels mounted to a steel frame that span across a four acre site that will generate one million kilowatt-hours annually.

All family housing on Fort Hood is privatized; and Universal Services Fort Hood, Inc. is the owner and operator of the 300 single-family home community of Liberty Village. Families will consume 20 percent of their electricity needs with renewable energy and without additional cost.

The Fort Hood Directorate of Public Works worked with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, to enable this opportunity.

The contractor, USFH, is solely responsible for financing, constructing, operating and maintaining the PV array and equipment.

The Army has challenged all of its installations to pursue the Net Zero Energy goal, and this project is an opportunity that will bring green electricity to military Families on Fort Hood.

FORT HOOD, Texas -- A regional recycling feasibility study has led to an open forum 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Harker Heights Activity Center, 400 Indian Trail, seeking the public’s input on a regional recycling program for Fort Hood, Killeen, Copperas Cove, Gatesville, and Harker Heights.

In April 2009, The Cen-Tex Sustainability Communities Partnership was created when Fort Hood signed a memorandum of understanding with the surrounding cities of Killeen, Copperas Cove, Gatesville, and Harker Heights to plan and implement goals that have long-term environmental, economic and social benefits for the region.

The Partnership held a goal setting conference in January 2010 to create common sustainable goals and develop partnership-guided projects to contribute to the vitality and quality of life in Central Texas.  In work groups, teams developed objectives, goals and plans toward a sustainable region through education, sustainable development and land use, multi-modal transportation, better handling of materials and resources, and improved quality of life.

City Mayors and the Garrison Commander reviewed the objectives and goals and decided a regional recycling program was a top priority as the most feasible and economically viable option which involved and benefited the region. 

The vision of the regional recycling program is for the partnership to work together and combine resources to create a recycling program that not only pays for itself, but also contributes funds for other mutually beneficial projects. 

The public is invited to the open forum to learn about the development of a regional recycling program that could increase the amount of recyclables through ‘pay as you throw,’ single stream collection, and implementing new ways to collect and process recyclables.

The forum will also have booths from local communities and organizations with information about available environmental services and programs in the area.

FORT HOOD, Texas -- The ground breaking ceremony for a solar project that will generate one million kilowatt-hours annually will be held at 11 a.m. Nov. 3 at the project site east of Liberty Village and south of Johnson Drive.

The array will consist of approximately 3,000 photovoltaic panels mounted to a steel frame that will span across a four acre site. The PV panels will generate enough electricity to power 60 homes. 

All family housing on Fort Hood is privatized; and Universal Services Fort Hood, Inc. is the owner and operator of the 300 single-family home community of Liberty Village. After project completion in March 2012, those Families will be fulfilling 20 percent of their electricity needs with renewable energy.

The Fort Hood Directorate of Public Works worked with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, to enable this opportunity. 

The contractor, USFH, is solely responsible for financing, constructing, operating and maintaining the PV array and equipment. Housing residents will consume the renewable energy without additional cost.

The Army has challenged all of its installations to pursue the Net Zero Energy goal, and this project is an opportunity that will bring green electricity to military Families on Fort Hood.