Army Interest in Renewable Fuels Growing

On 10 August Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced the creation of a new Energy Initiatives Office Task Force, whose purpose is to assist the Army face challenges arising from rising fuel costs.

Army officials hope that Energy Initiatives Office Task Force will be fully operational by 15 September and assist in developing the large-scale renewable energy projects the Army is seeking in its quest to achieve energy security, The Army News Service reported.

McHugh said, "The Energy Initiatives Office Task Force will help the Army build resilience through renewable energy while streamlining our business practices so developers can invest in and build an economically viable, large-scale renewable energy infrastructure. To meet a goal of 25 percent renewable energy by 2025, the Army must use every opportunity to be energy efficient and draw power from alternative and/or renewable energy sources."

Assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment Katherine Hammack observed, "This is focused entirely on CONUS (the continental United States) and large-scale renewable, almost utility-scale renewable projects, that would offset all or part of the energy needs of a permanent installation. When we are looking at projects, we are looking at about the 10-megawatt size, plus or minus a little bit. Or it could be larger. We are looking at large-scale renewable energy projects, on Army installations."

By. Charles Kennedy, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com