U.S. Army's Green Initiative Kicks Off, Seeks $7.1 Billion in Renewable Energy Projects

Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Army's Energy Initiatives task force officially opened for business September 15 with the goal of having Renewable Energy and Alternative Fuels account for 25% of the service's overall energy use by 2025. The Army estimates it will take about $7.1 billion of private-sector investment over the next 10 years to attain its green goal.

By lowering its energy use in three areas--bases, soldiers and vehicles--the Army can improve soldier safety, reduce its energy costs, enhance the security of its energy supply chain, increase energy independence and improve environmental quality.

The initiative got a running start earlier this year when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a request for interest for renewable and alternative energy. The request, with an estimated value of $5 billion, drew more than 150 responses from private-sector firms. The task force will focus primarily on renewable electricity. It will seek renewable electricity projects of 10 megawatts (MW) or larger that can be built on Army bases in the continental U.S.

The Army's goal in issuing the request for interest was to "establish a pre-qualified pool of private-sector partners who are positioned to finance the development of large-scale renewable energy projects and recoup their capital investment through the sale of energy to the Army, and excess energy back to the grid," Army Secretary John McHugh said in a speech last month announcing the formation of the energy task force.

The energy initiatives task force, comprised of Army military and civilian staff and contractors, seeks to "help the Army build resilience through renewable energy while streamlining our business practices so developers can invest in and build an economically viable, large-scale renewable energy infrastructure," McHugh said in his Aug. 10 speech. "To meet a goal of 25% renewable energy by 2025, the Army must use every opportunity to be energy efficient and draw power from alternative and/or renewable energy sources."

The various branches of the armed forces account for about 80% of the federal government's annual energy bill, McHugh said. The Army accounts for about 21% of the Pentagon's annual energy bill, he added. In 2010, the Army's energy bill totaled about $4 billion, 70% of which was for fuel, McHugh noted.

Although the task force will focus primarily on renewable electricity projects, the army secretary recognized the critical need for alternative transportation fuels as well. In World War II, he said, the average daily fuel consumption for an Allied soldier was about one gallon a day. But today, in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's between 15 and 22 gallons per soldier per day. A big reason for the increase is the broad deployment of heavily armored fighting vehicles that get about three miles per gallon. But those heavily armored vehicles have saved soldiers' lives: In 2008, the first year special mine-resistant vehicles were deployed in Iraq, fatalities from roadside bombs were cut by 90%, McHugh said.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, fuel and water comprise about 70-80% of ground resupply weight, McHugh noted. "In Afghanistan, we suffer one casualty for every 46 resupply convoys. Less energy use means fewer convoys, and fewer convoys mean fewer casualties."

McHugh said Army installations represent a huge opportunity for developers of renewable electricity and alternative fuels. There are 1.1 million soldiers in its ranks and an additional 400,000 civilians and contractors. The Army has 158 installations around the world, with more than 1 billion square feet of office space. The Army owns more than 24,000 square miles of land in the U.S. "If we were a city, we would represent the fourth-largest city in the United States. If we were a state, we'd be the 42nd largest. We have more people than the city of Philadelphia and more territory than the state of Maryland. What I'm trying to say is, we're pretty darn big."

The Army's sheer size, and its attendant bureaucracy, has tended to work against it's efforts to court private-sector investors and developers, Army officials acknowledge. The service's due-diligence process creates additional uncertainty for developers and investors. McHugh and other Army officials have pledged to streamline the service's process for assessing potential partners and projects.

In his August 10 speech, McHugh said: "We're going to make it easier for the private sector to work with us through both an aggressive outreach program to foster strategic and financial support of the Army's Renewable Energy Program, and by reducing private sector risk and streamlining the approval process through a one-stop shop for interested stakeholders."

One of the tasty carrots the Army is offering renewable power developers is a willingness to sign 30-year power-purchase agreements.

The Army already has about 126 renewable energy projects operating or under development, including:

• A 20-MW solar power project at Fort Irwin, California, that is the largest in Defense Department history. When completed, the $75 million project will encompass an area the size of Manhattan.
• A geothermal project capable of producing at least 30 MW of electricity at the Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada
• Several projects at Fort Bliss, Texas, including development of 100 MW of solar power; 50 MW of wind generation; 90 MW of waste-to-energy electricity; 40 MW of geothermal energy and a smart grid to tie all the power sources together

The Army has "an obligation to manage and conserve," McHugh said August 10. "And as the United States Army, we have the ability to adapt, to innovate, to lead. We also know that we have to do better. We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to our soldiers, but also we owe it to the environment and particularly to the American taxpayer."

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