The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for $7 billion worth of locally generated, renewable and alternative energy through power purchase agreements.
“We believe the Federal Renewable and Alternative Energy contract will provide the Army with an important means to achieve its goal of one gigawatt of renewable energy projects by 2025,” said Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh.
The government wishes to purchase the energy that is produced; not to acquire any generation assets. The successful contractors will be financing, designing, building, operating, owning and maintaining the electricity generation facilities.
“Contracts will be awarded to both large and small businesses according to four different renewable energy technologies: solar, wind, geothermal and biomass,” said Sarah Tierney, the project’s contracting specialist.
By awarding the contracts, the Army says it will have achieved a streamlined process to develop large scale renewable energy projects that uses private sector financing.
“This approach will help speed overall project development timelines to ensure the best value to the Army and private sector,” says a USACE statement.
The U.S. Army represents 20 percent of the Department of Defense’s total energy use. In 2011, Army energy expenses totaled $5 billion, a $1 billion increase over the prior year.
The DoD aims to produce or source a quarter of its total energy from renewables by 2025 – which will require approximately 3 gigawatts capacity.
The passion for renewables isn’t a case of the DoD suddenly becoming tree-huggers for the warm and fuzzy aspects. It believes “energy security and sustainability are operationally necessary, financially prudent and mission critical”.
The Army’s energy chief is also pushing energy efficiency awareness, stating that wise use of water and power resources begins with behavioural changes by soldiers, not solely with investments in technologies and new equipment.
