The Pentagon has lengthy been a vital buyer for clear vitality applied sciences, driving the nation's adoption of solar energy and the rollout of
The Pentagon has lengthy been a vital buyer for clear vitality applied sciences, driving the nation’s adoption of solar energy and the rollout of cell batteries. Now, its $700 billion funds might provide a chance for the Biden administration to assist scale-up industries reminiscent of these producing electrical automobiles and superior batteries.
“Begin with the very fact the Division of Protection is the only largest vitality person,” mentioned Sherri Goodman, a deputy undersecretary of protection for environmental safety below Obama and now a senior fellow on the Wilson Middle’s Environmental Change and Safety Program, a assume tank. “What it does and the way it makes use of its vitality, the way it reduces its emissions, makes its bases extra resilient to local weather threats — that helps all America by be taught by instance.”
Although its vitality consumption has been declining for years, the Protection Division continues to be by far the biggest vitality person within the federal authorities — accounting for greater than three-quarters of complete authorities vitality utilization and 15 instances the vitality consumption of the Put up Workplace, the No. 2 client — and it emits about 1 p.c of the whole U.S. carbon emissions.
The Pentagon helped jump-start the U.S. photo voltaic business again in 2007, when the Air Drive contracted to construct a 14-megawatt photo voltaic farm at Nellis Air Drive Base in Nevada, then the biggest plant of its form within the nation. Since then, the business has constructed photo voltaic initiatives greater than 40 instances that dimension, and the navy has been one its greatest prospects, including greater than 130 megawatts to bases in practically three dozen states.
Former President Barack Obama additionally pushed the Pentagon to experiment with biofuels to scale back its ships’ dependence on oil, and although a “Nice Inexperienced Fleet” powered by biofuels from home-grown crops did not reside up its promise, then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus discovered success in even easy options: He ordered refitting ships to interchange all their bulbs with excessive effectivity know-how, saving energy and permitting the ships to remain at sea longer. And the aviation biofuels developed through the interval at the moment are being utilized by airways to accumulate carbon offsets required by European aviation authorities.
U.S. troops additionally noticed different advantages from the Obama years. Batteries carried by troopers to energy radios and different gear went from 13 kilos to 9 kilos, easing their load whereas they’re on maneuvers.
Although Congress usually guides the Protection Division on vitality conservation initiatives by the annual Nationwide Protection Authorization Act, President Donald Trump reversed a lot of Obama’s efforts to make use of the federal authorities to scale back carbon dioxide emissions to combat local weather change, together with by a 2018 government order revoking particular carbon discount targets for federal businesses. And navy leaders who resented being instruments of a coverage they did not really feel contributed to the combating mission had been relieved to see an finish to that chapter.
Biden is more likely to lean on his incoming Protection secretary, former Gen. Lloyd Austin, to ramp up using renewable vitality sources whereas hardening the nation’s navy bases to the hazards from local weather change. Although Austin was tapped over Michele Flournoy, an Obama DoD official with deep expertise combating local weather change, specialists say he shall be keenly conscious of the hazards hurricanes and fires pose to bases, and can convey expertise coping with the complexities of gas logistics.
As commander of U.S. forces within the Center East, Austin oversaw the primary affect of local weather change in a theater of operations, in 2015, mentioned Andrew Holland, chief working officer for the assume tank the American Safety Mission.
“He ought to know the significance of this, at the same time as he doesn’t have an extended file engaged on this problem,” he mentioned.
Biden’s transition workforce declined to touch upon his plans, and pointed to his posted local weather plans.
Biden will seemingly choose up an Obama-era program through which bases in Nevada and Hawaii constructed microgrids, enabling them to maintain their lights on and proceed operations even when the civilian energy provide failed. The maturity of photo voltaic and wind know-how has additionally pushed down costs, and U.S. bases in lots of locations might be able to set up their very own era at a decrease value than fossil energy.
Biden can even get the benefit of the cultural shift towards effectivity and renewables engendered by Obama and his Protection officers, Goodman mentioned. Veterans have entered the clear vitality workforce in larger numbers than different elements of the workforce in states like Ohio, the place 11 p.c of the clear vitality workforce had been veterans — double their illustration in different industries, in accordance with a report from Clear Vitality Belief, a Midwestern clear vitality funding fund. And junior officers who had been nonetheless studying find out how to implement vitality effectivity measures through the Obama years have now superior to positions of accountability contained in the navy.
The threats to its bases from storms packing a stronger punch due to local weather change and elevated flooding could also be the most costly dangers for the Pentagon now. Bases in Florida have suffered billions of {dollars} in damages in recent times, and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia has flooded practically a dozen instances in recent times due to rising seas.
The Iraq Struggle additionally drove dwelling the necessity to discover extra gas environment friendly methods of working, as gas truckers had among the many highest casualty charges within the struggle. Between 2003 and 2007, practically 3,000 contractors died or had been injured transporting oil to ahead working bases, in accordance with an American Safety Mission report. Dependence on gas oil for tanks and Humvees prompted the commander of forces in Iraq — who was later Secretary of Protection — Gen. Jim Mattis to ask navy technologists to “unleash us from the tether of gas.”
That sentiment dovetails with Biden’s plan to quickly develop the U.S. manufacturing capability for electrical automobiles — an effort the place the Pentagon might play an identical function because it did with solar energy over a decade in the past.
“We’ll purchase electrical automobiles,” Holland mentioned. “There shall be an elevated push to make that part of vitality resilience as effectively.”
But when Biden needs to wield the navy’s vitality funds to push local weather targets, he’ll seemingly should discover a method to train better management over the buying choices.
Ben Steinberg, now a marketing consultant with Venn Methods, was the important thing Vitality Division liaison with the Protection Division throughout a part of the Obama administration, and he helped hyperlink up DOE vitality effectivity and know-how applications to the suitable places of work within the Pentagon. He warns that whereas DoD has some huge cash to spend money on analysis and in scaling up photo voltaic, spending choices are made by hundreds of various individuals throughout bases, ships and different installations.
“DoD will not be a monolithic entity,” he mentioned. “It is onerous to consolidate all of that and have the shopping for energy all working collectively. My recommendation is to drive it on the highest degree attainable and have the [White House Office of Management and Budget] extraordinarily concerned in buying issues and have the OMB drive it with instruments. That is with issues like electrical automobiles, clustering how you buy renewable vitality so a number of bases can go right into a deal collectively and prices can come down.”
Biden may additionally have the ability to duck a number of the resistance Obama confronted from conservatives. Sen. Jim Inhofe, now chair of the Armed Companies Committee, beforehand lambasted Obama for placing coverage targets forward of navy ones. However photo voltaic and wind energy at the side of batteries have fallen a lot in value that combating local weather change and advancing the Pentagon’s combating mission are now not in battle.
“As long as the navy spending is mission and capabilities pushed first, if that spending has broader financial and local weather advantages, that’s nice,” mentioned Nick Loris, a fellow in Vitality and Environmental Coverage on the conservative Heritage Basis. “We shouldn’t mandate pricier electrical energy or fuels on the navy until DOD determines the nationwide safety advantages justify the upper prices, which hasn’t at all times been the case. That diverts sources away from extra productive use. Nonetheless, if the inexperienced applied sciences are cheaper and improve mission capabilities, all the higher.”