Oct 27 2008

The Greening of the U.S. Army

Posted by: Jonathan Marshall

Despite its preference for the color green, the U.S. Army isn't the first organization that usually comes to mind when you think of environmental sustainability. But with annual spending of at least $3 billion on energy, the army says it's getting serious about energy efficiency and more sustainable energy production.

In addition to appointing a Senior Energy Council to advise the Army on energy policy, programs and funding, the secretary of the Army recently announced several new projects, including:

• the purchase of 4,000 small Neighborhood Electric Vehicles to replace gasoline-powered vehicles traditionally used by maintenance and operations staff for use on its posts;
• a major geothermal project at Hawthorne Army Depot, Nev., capable of producing 30 megawatts of clean power;
• biomass fuel demonstrations at six Army posts;
• a pilot energy savings performance contract with the private sector to serve as a model for monitoring and reducing energy consumption;
• and perhaps most exciting, a plan to partner with the private sector to construct a 500 megawatt solar thermal plant at Fort Irwin, Calif., in the Mojave Desert, to provide renewable power on the grid and provide the Army post with added energy security against disruption of power supply.

The Army's planned solar power installation enjoys a unique advantage: the Army owns its site and can thus streamline the permit process. Many solar pioneers are reportedly facing long and costly permit delays for projects on parcels controlled by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Oakland-based BrightSource Energy has warned that if the review process isn't speeded up, delays could send "a chilling signal to large-scale solar developers and their investors."

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