March 19, 2009
Renewable Energy's Biggest Ally
by Alex Kizer, National Defense University
Although it has been said that when it comes to the U.S. military "successes
are private while failures are public," a recent success involving the
Defense Department (DoD) and the renewable energy industry must come to
light.
In December of last year, the secretary of the Air Force, Michael B. Donley,
signed the Air Force Energy Program Guidance Memorandum, which is the first
time that the U.S. military's created a comprehensive energy strategy that
focuses on increasing the use of renewable energy.
"The Air Force is identifying alternative sources of energy to reduce the
impact of energy use on the environment, developing long-term objectives to
achieve zero waste, and is pledging support to achieve DoD and Air Force
environmental goals," the memorandum stated.
It should be no surprise that the Air Force, or the U.S. military more
generally, is concerned with energy consumption, especially considering the
two most recent wars that have cost the U.S. hundreds of billions of
dollars. With the supply needs of the American military today, like the $6.5
billion the Air Force spends on total energy costs (2006), securing energy
supplies remains critical to its operational capacity.
What is surprising is how the Air Force Energy Memorandum has made renewable
energy a main pillar of DoD energy supply policy.
From the Memorandum: The Air Force plans to increase facility renewable
energy use at annual targets of 5 percent by 2010, 7.5 percent by 2013, and
25 percent by 2025 — while 50 percent of the increase must come from new
renewable sources. As well as implementing the strict use of environmentally
friendly energy, the Air Force is evaluating and developing protocols that
will allow it to identify, quantify and manage its own greenhouse gas
emissions.
"The U.S. military is probably better at mobilizing action and committing
funds to R&D than any organization in the world," said Dr. Richard Andres, a
Senior Fellow at the National Defense University (NDU) and head of the new
Energy and Environmental Security Research Group. "The Defense Department
only recently started seriously talking about renewable energy and you can
already see some of the world's most impressive projects starting to
generate power on U.S. bases."
A Department of Energy panel of experts in the field of energy technology
recently discussed their findings from "Breakthrough Energy Technologies:
The Enabling Role of Basic Science" at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, a think tank in Washington, DC.
At the conference, Dr. John Hemminger, a scientist from UC Irvine, concluded
that "many options hold great promise — solar PV, efficiency, battery and
storage technologies — but their realization will rely on further advances
in our understanding of basic science."
Herein lies the opportunity for the Air Force Energy Program to have
multiplier effects as it spins off new technology and disseminates expertise
and investment around the country. If the U.S. was able to secure the next
great renewable energy breakthrough, before, say China, then not only would
the U.S. become better equipped as an energy exporter, and perhaps give rise
to a new energy trade and balance of power, but in doing so might also solve
the global environmental problem of climate change.
In this contest the renewable energy industry can use all the help it can
get. The investment incentives structure is simply not yet there, and
Congress' stimulus package alone cannot support the future U.S. energy
infrastructure.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contains $20 billion in tax
incentives for renewable energy, as well as an extension of the Production
Tax Credit for wind, hydropower and other clean energy sources. However,
these incentives cannot force investors to expand the supply of clean energy
without first evaluating the credit situation, as well as the market demand
for technologies like PV and solar thermal.
With the Air Force Energy Memorandum, a gap has been bridged that will bring
about one of the most effective policy mechanisms in the world. It will
force the U.S. military into the development of renewable energy without
having to wait around for someone else to write the check.
For NDU Scholar Richard Andres, the military's mission is evolving and will
continue to grow in scope. "The Air Force's official energy slogan is "make
energy a consideration in all we do," he said. Its goal is to have all Air
Force personnel trained in energy awareness by 2010, as part of a required
energy curriculum in the Academy and the Air University. "Under the
leadership of true visionaries like Michael A. Aimone [Air Force Assistant
Deputy Chief of Staff], the military has begun considering energy and the
environment in its long list of operations. This means renewable energy,
alternatives to oil and gas as well as any number of improved efficiencies."
Most organizations absorb new directives in only one way: slowly. Contained
within the Air Force's Energy Program is an overall Energy Management
Structure that disseminates objectives across the chain of command, which
forces expediency and as Dr. Andres put it: "makes the U.S. military unlike
most other organizations in the world." But changing the culture of the
military by making energy a consideration in all planning will be more
difficult. These are pains that have stricken the environmental groups
forever, and the military's effectiveness at changing its energy culture is
yet to be seen.
But the military cannot quietly act alone. Changing a culture requires the
most public of all displays. The renewable energy industry has been
successful at making energy and the environment an issue for discussion,
while lacking the funds and manpower to breakthrough the U.S. culture of
consumption. The U.S. military is very much the opposite. With the manpower
and money to build a hospital in days or roads in hours, the Defense
Department can to set a public example about changing its own culture of
consumption, while promoting the same through research and development.
These two sides must work together to help combat energy dependence and
climate change. The Air Force Memorandum is only the first step toward a new
energy alliance that will raise eyebrows and with appropriate cooperation
change the future culture of American energy consumption.
Alex Kizer is a Columbus, Ohio native who is finishing his master's
degree at American University's School of International Service, focusing on
International Energy Security. He also works as a research fellow at the
National Defense University's Energy & Environmental Security Research
Group.
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