U.S. Military Leads the Charge on Renewables, Efficiency and Energy Security
Why:
In Afghanistan and Iraq, 70% of convoys — a key target of improvised explosive devices — are dedicated solely to transporting fuel and water. That’s why renewables and efficiency can save lives…With more than 3,000 American soldiers killed or wounded while transporting energy and billions of dollars siphoned by unfriendly foreign oil producers, the DOD only stands to gain from reforming its energy system and investing in clean energy and energy efficiency.
How?
Reducing oil dependence
- The DOD set a goal of reducing petroleum use by 20 percent by 2015. DOD is currently on track to meet this goal, and has cut fleet-wide petroleum use by 6.6 percent since 2005.
- The Air Force plans to cost-competitively acquire 50 percent of its domestic aviation fuel by 2016 via an alternative fuel blend that is cleaner than conventional petroleum fuel.
- The Department of Navy has set aggressive goals to decrease fossil fuel use by all vessels by 50 percent by 2020, and reduce petroleum use in nontactical vehicles by 50 percent by 2015.
Improving energy efficiency
- DOD has a set a goal of reducing energy intensity by 30 percent by 2015.
- Half of all Department of Navy installations by 2020 will be “net-zero” energy bases producing more energy than they consume.- The Army also has a net-zero energy installation goal to ensure that facilities are able to produce as much energy as they consume. To accomplish this goal, the Army implemented the highest building standard in the federal government.
Deploying renewable electricity and increasing grid security
- DOD set a goal of providing 26 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. It is currently using 11.3 percent renewable energy, and is on track to meet its 26 percent goal if these efforts continue- Half the Navy’s total energy consumption ashore will come from cleaner, alternative sources by 2020. A few examples of Navy renewable energy projects include 270 MW of geothermal power online in China Lake, California,
- The Army currently has 126 renewable energy projects in operation, and hopes to leverage $7 billion in private capital to increase large-scale renewable projects by 2020. For example, the Army is planning a 500 MW solar energy plant at Fort Irwin, California.
Lots more info at the link, particularly near the end (for brevity’s sake I trimmed some info from the bullet-points above).
This memo (PDF linked to in the original article) provides more details about the Department of Defense’s policies re energy security and innovation.
Me, I’m just grateful they’re smarter and more ethical than the GOP on this issue.