The United States’ Army says its many large-scale renewable energy installations would become vital to mission security in the event of failure to the civilian electricity grid. The Army has established a new Energy Initiatives Office (EIO) Task Force to manage an estimated $7.1 billion in investments on future renewable energy projects.
The EIO task force will focus on facilitating partnerships between the military and the private sector using commercial investment and expertise to install primarily large-scale renewable energy projects – over 10 megawatt (MW) capacity- such as the proposed 500MW concentrated solar photovoltaic (CSP) plant at Fort Irwin in California, and a 14MW solar facility at Nellis Air Force Base.
Secretary of the Army John McHugh said that meeting the Army’s goal of 25-percent renewable energy by 2025 was a key strategy in combating rising fuel costs and winning the battle for energy independence.
“The Energy Initiatives Office Task Force will 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 the Army has currently has 126 renewable energy projects in operation, but the EIO task force would need to raise a further $7.1 billion from industry over the next 10 years in order for the Army to generate 2.1 million megawatt hours of renewable power annually needed to reach the 2025 goal.
According to McHugh, developers would be guaranteed a life-long customer with the Army, while excess power from the project could be sold to civilian utilities.
“The task force I announced today is specifically directed toward basically power production,” McHugh said. “We’re looking to meet our goal of renewable energy utilization by 2025.”
