Energy efficiency isn’t just a good idea; it’s a necessity, both for cost reasons and to meet federal regulatory requirements.   

First, rising energy unit costs continue to erode NASA’s mission budget.    

NASA spent roughly $167M on facility energy in FY 2008. Although that represents less than one per cent of NASA's overall annual budget, the upward trend in energy costs concerns the agency. While NASA reduced consumption 12%, energy unit costs have risen 72%. Energy cost increases counteract the effects of energy conservation, which results in NASA buying less yet spending more. 

The second factor is federal energy legislation.  The National Energy Conservation Policy Act, as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 Executive Order 13423, January, 2007, and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, mandates energy/water conservation goals for all federal agencies, including NASA. There are also reporting requirements associated with this legislation. The Energy Independence and Security Act, passed in December, 2007, created additional reporting requirements. The Energy/Water Management Task was created to support NASA Headquarters Environmental Management Division (HQ EMD) in meeting these requirements. 

With assistance from TEERM, HQ EMD compiled and submitted the NASA Annual Report to the Department of Energy FY 2007 and 2008.  The report contains information on how NASA is meeting federally mandated energy and water management goals.  TEERM monitored input for timeliness, errors, and conformity to the new energy/water reporting guidelines and helped compile the information into the final report. 

TEERM also assists NASA Energy/Water Management with proposal and award calls and facilitating communication within the energy/water management community. As well as in reporting the results of its triennial Energy and Water Management Functional Reviews at all NASA sites.

TEERM is also supporting NASA and the Interagency Working Group on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells.  Established shortly after President Bush announced the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative in 2003, this IWG serves as the mechanism for collaboration among the Federal agencies involved in hydrogen-related research, development, and demonstration.  TEERM developed a matrix showing all Hydrogen and Fuel Cell activities from the various NASA centers to be included in the Group’s extensive hydrogen research taxonomy of past, present, and future hydrogen activities of the Federal government.

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