WASHINGTON, DC, US, April 25, 2007.
Deploying renewable energies is one approach to securing power to U.S. military installations for critical missions, according to a report on climate change prepared by a group of retired generals and admirals.
The report, ‘National Security and the Threat of Climate Change,’ was commissioned by the Center for Naval Analyses and written by former military officers including retired vice admiral Richard Truly, who was director of the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The study examined the national security consequences of climate change and how it could affect national security over the next 40 years.
The national power grid is “fragile and can be easily disrupted” as the blackout in northeastern states in 2003 demonstrated. That failure affected 50 million people in eight states and Canada and caused a financial loss estimated at US$4-10 billion.
“As extreme weather events becomes more common, so do the threats to our national electricity supply,” the report notes. “One approach to securing power to Department of Defense installations for critical missions involves a combination of aggressively applying energy efficiency technologies to reduce the critical load (more mission, less energy); deploying renewable energy sources; and ‘islanding’ the installation from the national grid.”
Islanding allows power generated on installations to flow onto the grid when there is excess production and from the grid when the load exceeds local generation. “By pursuing these actions to improve resiliency of mission, DoD would become an early adopter of technologies that would help transform the grid, reduce our load, and expand the use of renewable energy.”
The military pays a high price for high fuel demand and, in Iraq, “significant combat forces are dedicated to moving fuel and protecting fuel supply lines,” it continues. The commander of the multinational force asked for help last year, by requesting renewable energy systems which would reduce the “military’s dependence on fuel for power generation could reduce the number of road-bound convoys” and, without renewable energy systems, “personnel loss rates are likely to continue at their current rate.”
“Projected climate change poses a serious threat to America’s national security,” the report explains. “The predicted effects of climate change over the coming decades include extreme weather events, drought, flooding, sea level rise, retreating glaciers, habitat shifts, and the increased spread of life-threatening diseases. These conditions have the potential to disrupt our way of life and to force changes in the way we keep ourselves safe and secure.”
“In the national and international security environment, climate change threatens to add new hostile and stressing factors,” it continues. “On the simplest level, it has the potential to create sustained natural and humanitarian disasters on a scale far beyond those we see today. The consequences will likely foster political instability where societal demands exceed the capacity of governments to cope.”
“The national security consequences of climate change should be fully integrated into national security and national defense strategies,” it recommends. “The U.S. should commit to a stronger national and international role to help stabilise climate change at levels that will avoid significant disruption to global security and stability.”
