Dennis McGinn, U.S. Navy assistant secretary for energy, installations, and the environment, discusses how the Navy is using advanced biofuels to power ships, planes and vehicles to cut its dependence on foreign oil and bolster its energy security. Watch an interview with Dennis McGinn HERE. 

The United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) released an energy strategy for the Asia-Pacific region. The USPACOM strategy, which complements the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Operational Energy Strategy and Implementation Plan , calls for “incorporating operational energy into the core business of Pacific Command as a way to improve warfighting capability and reduce costs,” notes Rachel Posner, the Deputy Director for Policy in the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs. The USPACOM embarked on implementing the DoD Operational Energy Strategy two years ago. Since then the Command “established an energy governance structure (the Joint Energy Security Working Group); tested operational energy risks in the TERMINAL FURY Command Post Exercise; co-sponsored studies to analyze energy supportability of operations in the Asia-Pacific region; incorpora...

The Environmental Security Technology Certification Program ( ESTCP ), the U.S. Department of Defense’s environmental research program, solicits Environmental and Installation Energy Technology Proposals for FY 2015 funding. Pre-proposal submissions are due on April 1, 2014 and should be related to Energy Efficiency for Military Buildings; Assessment of Vapor Intrusion; Weapons Systems and Platforms; and Water Conservation and Reuse for Military Facilities. More information about the solicitations is available here . ESTCP Director, Dr. Anne Andrews, will also conduct an online seminar entitled “ESTCP Funding Opportunities for Environmental and Energy Technologies” on February 21, 2014 from 12:30-1:30pm Eastern Time. Pre-registration for this webinar is required here .

In an effort to alleviate a logistical challenge of supplying diesel fuel for military forces in the field, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) embarked on Earl Energy’s FlexGen “hybrid generator” which, according to the company, can reduce the amount of fuel used by generators at outposts by more than 50%. Regular diesel generators that the U.S. military uses to power its operating bases run non-stop without adjusting to the fluctuations of power demand of air conditioners, electronics and other gear. Consequently, the fuel efficiency is compromised when the demand for power is lower than the generator’s full capacity. As the IEEE Spectrum article describes, in contrast, the hybrid generator “is wired to a diesel generator running at full capacity, which is how it’s most efficient. When there is excess power, the diesel generator charges the batteries. If the batteries have enough stor...

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) will use high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells and modules to power its military base in Savannah, Georgia. The modules, manufactured by a metro-Atlanta based Suniva, Inc., will be used in the roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) solar system on the Georgia National Guard’s Hunter AASF building and will generate around 160,000kWh per year. According to installer, Solar Energy USA, the array should be installed and operational by the end of Q1 2014. The DOD Georgia’s use of solar power is yet another example of the U.S. military effort to increase the total installed capacity of renewable energy sources from 80 megawatts (MW) in 2013 to more than 3,200 MW by 2025.  Read more on this from Business Wire. 

The Military Smart Grids & Microgrids Symposium 2014 will bring together key planners, policy makers and technical experts in developing smart and microgrid systems.  This two-day symposium offering networking and exhibiting opportunities will be held in Washington D.C. on April 8-9, 2014. The symposium will feature keynote speakers such as for instance the Honorable Dennis V. McGinn, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Energy Installations & Environment, speaking on “Navy Energy: Needs, Challenges & New Strategic Programs for Sustainability; the Honorable Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army, Installations, Energy & Environment, delivering a keynote address on “Army Energy Outlook: Needs, Challenges & New Initiatives”. Read more about the agenda and speakers.

As a part of an effort to reduce cost and risk of getting fuel to forward operating bases, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) concluded a new cooperative agreement with the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory to develop information that military resource planners can use to optimize energy consumption depending on their specific local conditions and mission needs. This consortium, the first of its kind, plans to use simulations to determine how best to integrate existing technologies, including renewable fuels. The Energy Efficient Outpost Modeling Consortium has three pillars including: Energy Resource Planning Tool; Energy Resource Dashboard and Control; and Energy Efficiency Training. The consortium is supported by the DOD’s Operational Energy Capabilities Impr...

In addition to a U.S. DoD-conducted Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) issued every four years, the U.S. will undertake, for the first time, a Quadrennial Energy Review (QER). The first QER will focus on transmission and distribution infrastructure. Per the White House press release from January 2014: “This first QER will focus on the development of a comprehensive strategy for the infrastructure involved in transporting, transmitting, and delivering energy. The QER will be developed through robust interagency dialogue and engagement of external stakeholders and will help to build on the Nation’s progress toward greater energy and climate security.  Building on the foundation provided in the President’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future and his Climate Action Plan, this QER will study the opportunities and challenges that our energy infrastructure faces as a result of transformations in...

Once a year, the U.S. Marine Corps invites select industry stakeholders to the Experimental Forward Operating Base (ExFOB) to demonstrate off-the-shelf technologies with potential to address current Marine Corps capability gaps. Presently, as a part of their effort to reduce battlefield energy and water requirements, the Marines are soliciting submissions on “Tactical Energy Harvesting” for the purpose of determining market capability of suitable technologies.  The ExFOB team is primarily interested in technologies that harvest energy from Marines in motion and waste heat from standard generators. Read more details here.

Research and Market analysts forecast that the global renewable energy market in the military sector will grow at a nearly 14 percent compound annual growth rate over the period 2014-2018. The increased adoption of decentralized power generation and the increase in construction of smart grid are among the key contributors of this market growth. Read more at Reuters. 

Pew’s new report, “ Power Surge ”, examines how the U.S. military is using private-sector capabilities and harnessing innovative financing to obtain advanced energy systems. The Pew research finds that private-public partnership is key to growth.  According to the study, the number of energy savings and efficiency projects at military installations more than doubled between 2010 and 2012 fiscal year, and the number of renewable energy projects increased from 454 to 700 during the same period. Phyllis Cuttino, director of Pew’s project on national security, energy, and climate noted “The military’s clean energy installation initiatives are gathering momentum, enhancing base energy security. These improvements are possible even as the Pentagon’s budget is shrinking because the armed services are harnessing private-sector expertise and resources. This is a win-win-win proposition: The militar...

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Tactical Defense Media interviewed Gal Luft, Co-Director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS), the publisher of the   Journal of Energy Security , on a potential role of biofuels in a military’s energy mix, and a military’s potential role in biofuels development. According to Luft, “With respect to biofuels, the only role I see for the military is in the testing and certification of fuels to make sure they can be used should they prove economically viable. What I don’t want to see from the military is mass adoption of fuels that are in many cases much more expensive – [as] this would come at the expense of other needs.”   Read more   directly from November 2013 DoD Power, Energy & Propulsion.

This December 2013 presentation by the U.S. Army Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy and Sustainability, Richard Kidd, provides a comprehensive summary of the Army’s 2013 energy efficiency progress across its energy trio framework focused on bases, soldier and vehicle power. Read more at the Army’s Homepage.

As part of the U.S. Department of Defense latest plan to increase military energy efficiency after spending $157.5 million on energy in 2013 fiscal year, the U.S. Air Force in Europe and Air Force Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) implemented a Residential Energy Efficiency Program (REEP). The program employs energy monitors that record electricity usage to raise awareness among the base residents how much energy they use and at what cost. The UK Royal Air Force base in Lakenheath, England, the first one to implement the REEP, has slashed electricity use and gas consumption by 30% among the residents participating in the program.   Read more   at American Chemistry.

U.S. Marine base camps throughout the Middle East have embarked on solar photovoltaic (PV) panels to lower expenses. In addition to already using solar power to power off-grid ground structures and battery packs, the Marines are currently testing solar powered vests which will enable Marines to function effectively in hard-to-supply locations for longer periods, while reducing logistical and physical challenges. Joining the Navy and Air Force renewable energy efforts, the Marines are working toward achieving 50 percent higher energy efficiency on the battlefield by 2025.   Read more   on U.S. Marines portable solar initiatives at Clean Technica.