The military has begun to deploy clean energy technology into combat zones. The reasons for the military's interest in clean energy are important because they undercut the disinformation campaign by the fossil fuels industry. For the military, clean renewable forms of energy are reliable, cheaper, and produce less supply chain vulnerability.
With insurgents increasingly attacking the American fuel supply convoys that lumber across the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan, the military is pushing aggressively to develop, test and deploy renewable energy to decrease its need to transport fossil fuels.
New York Times, Oct 5, article by Elisabeth Rosenthal
The article by Elisabeth Rosenthal points out some of the problems that the reliance on fossil fuels creates for the military. It can be summed up by supply chain unreliability and cost.
He and other experts also said that greater reliance on renewable energy improved national security, because fossil fuels often came from unstable regions and scarce supplies were a potential source of international conflict.
Fossil fuel accounts for 30 to 80 percent of the load in convoys into Afghanistan, bringing costs as well as risk. While the military buys gas for just over $1 a gallon, getting that gallon to some forward operating bases costs $400.
New York Times, Oct 5, article by Elisabeth Rosenthal
Those are fascinating statistics. Even though the Pentagon has secured relatively cheap refined oil products, the costs of using those products in the field are unacceptably high. Those costs also translate into high casualties associated with protecting the fuel supply chain. Here is another illustration of the life cycle costs associated with fossil fuels for the military.
The renewable technology that will power Company I costs about $50,000 to $70,000; a single diesel generator costs several thousand dollars. But when it costs hundreds of dollars to get each gallon of traditional fuel to base camps in Afghanistan, the investment is quickly defrayed.
New York Times, Oct 5, article by Elisabeth Rosenthal
The short-terms goals for clean renewable energy for the military are stunning. A 50% renewable energy standard in a decade for the Navy and Marines has been advocated by the Secretary of the Navy.
“There are a lot of profound reasons for doing this, but for us at the core it’s practical,” said Ray Mabus, the Navy secretary and a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who has said he wants 50 percent of the power for the Navy and Marines to come from renewable energy sources by 2020. That figure includes energy for bases as well as fuel for cars and ships.
New York Times, Oct 5, article by Elisabeth Rosenthal
It is ironic that renewable energy goals of even 10-20% in the civilian market are ridiculed as impractical and too expensive, particularly by conservative think tanks taking large sums from the fossil fuels industry. Yet, here is the military talking about far more ambitious goals for clean energy in a much shorter time frame. The technology is mature enough for immediate adoption by the military, durable enough for performance under adverse circumstances in harsh environments, and promising enough to devote considerable resources into research and development.
Slowing the transition to clean energy in the general economy is the major political objective of fossil fuels companies. They have been successful in fostering political inertia through disinformation about climate change and the economic costs associated with clean energy. Perhaps the military will finally give us the ammunition to win the political battles to make progress on the clean energy front. It makes little sense to prepare to fight distant threats to our security while the fossil fools in our midst are working hard to guarantee our ultimate failure as a global power.
While the challenges of this transition may be great, the full costs of fossil fuels should compel the nation to search for more reliable, sustainable, and cleaner sources of energy. Moving away from fossil fuel-based energy will not only create a cleaner and healthier future for America, but it will also strengthen the economy and make the nation more secure and prosperous.
Powering America's Economy, July 2010, Military Advisory Board