Ok so I am deviating a little bit from my normal solar power blogs, but this was a really interesting article, especially after that presentation on energy in the military. While it may be true that we cannot slap on solar panels on a B2 and expect them to power it, they can help power the base where the B2 lands. The DOD is applying alternative energy into a prospective $42 million project on a base in Hawaii that will allow for alternative energy to help power the base on a day to day bases and store some power for disaster scenarios. Whereas there will still be a few diesel powered engines for back up, this move shows that the military is now "thinking green" as well.Here is an excerpt:
"Starting this fall, the Pentagon expects to join forces with a coalition of other agencies and national labs to create the first installation-level "microgrid" technology. The end result will be cyber secure, it says.
The $42 million project -- assuming Congress approves the money -- will integrate energy from existing diesel-powered generators alongside alternative and renewable energy sources. It will help power an installation's day-to-day operations when the base is hooked up to the commercial grid and will also allow it to function independently of that utility grid, should the need arise."
The rest of the article can be read here:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-renewable-energy-make-us-military
I think this is great news. As we learned in the guest lecture about military energy consumption, the military consumes a lot of fuel for flying their planes and jets, which cannot be easily changed. But there can be marginal improvement in other facets of the military. This article is a major example of this, but its only a start. Compared to the $500 billion + spent every year on defense by the U.S., alternative energy could help cut some of those costs. This could allow for that money to go to other places like research and development for weapons and armor. The idea that I still would like to see is alternative energy sources on the go in the military. Like in bases in Afghanistan, the bases are somewhat mobile. If they could have alternative energy technology that goes with them, this could allow for more saving and also lessen the dependency on fuel, which proves to be a huge danger in places like the Khyber Pass. I think this is a good step forward.
ReplyDeleteI think that for anything to try and become more "green" and utilize alternative energies is always a positive and forward thinking step. The article presents and emphasizes that by incorporating and utilizing alternative energies and creating this "micro-grid," that the security level actually increases at this military base. Along with using less petroleum based fuel, and producing fewer emissions, this plan is overall fantastic. Obviously, the initial price is quite high but that is a general trend for most environmentally friendly innovations and integrations.
ReplyDeleteFrom the military and energy presentation we had in class, we learned how valuable fuel is to the military and how much greater significance it has strategically and thus, a massive sum of money is spent in simply protecting it. I think diesel generators and the likes will still be necessary for instant demand applications for the military (i.e. jet fuel for planes, etc.), and most probably in general average lifestyles, but it is a good step to start using alternative energies to applicable scenarios like the military base and use less petroleum fuel.