NCJ Number
227959
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 71 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2009 Pages: 64-66
Date Published
June 2009
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes ways in which the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is meeting its requirements for energy savings under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Executive Order 13423, and the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Abstract
In addition to requiring energy savings performance contracts, the BOP is pursuing numerous energy conservation and greening projects through other means; for example, BOP is working with Lycoming County, PA, in an effort to use methane gas from a landfill to provide electricity and hot water to Allenwood Federal Correctional Facility. In another example, the BOP's Mid-Atlantic region and the U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton in Bruceton Mills, WV, are engaged in a joint effort with West Virginia University to monitor meteorological conditions at the penitentiary in order to determine the feasibility of using wind for power production. Currently, six BOP institutions have biodiesel operations of varying capacity. Although the majority of the BOP's sustainable greening projects aim to use resources and energy more efficiently, it is furthering its commitment to a healthy environment and the stewardship of resources by exploring the possibility of self-sustaining facilities. This means a facility will maximize the use of the self-sustaining resources it needs to operate or generate one or more resources in excess of what the prison uses in order to offset the purchase of another. The process of site selection and any decisions on which prison design and construction options are feasible and most efficient must also consider the number of offenders BOP serves from specific geographic areas and inmate programming needs. When it comes to meeting future demands, proactive adoption and use of energy-efficient designs that incorporate new and emerging technologies and rely on renewable energy makes the most sense for correctional systems.