The US Army has increased its investments in solar power and is eyeing further opportunities to work with the private sector to develop projects, despite the Trump administration’s scepticism about renewable energy.
Michael McGhee, who leads the US Army’s Office of Energy Initiatives, told the Financial Times that installing solar panels at army bases could improve resilience against attacks or natural disasters, and provide cost-effective electricity supplies.
“We are required to be ready no matter what the circumstances,” he said. “What we are looking at when we see renewables is a self-resupplying power source.”
President Donald Trump has suggested he is unenthusiastic about solar power, describing it in 2016 as “very expensive”, and his administration’s energy policy has focused on attempts to revive the coal industry.
The US military, including the army, has continued to invest in renewable energy, however, including solar power and biofuels, working with private companies to minimise costs.
The army added about 94 megawatts of renewable energy capacity in the fiscal year to September 2016, increasing its total by 59 per cent. It said last year that it expected to add about 100MW more in fiscal 2017.
Mr McGhee said the army had been made “acutely aware of the vulnerability of the power system” by the problems at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, when the local power grid was hit by tornadoes in 2011. The base, a centre for the army’s Space and Missile Defense Command, lost most of its electricity and faced severe disruption to its communications systems.
Loss of power from grid connections is a common problem at US bases. In the fiscal year 2016, there were 701 interruptions to energy and water utility supplies that lasted eight hours or longer at US defence department installations, mostly affecting electricity supplies.
With power grids facing threats from cyber and physical attacks as well as extreme weather, the army is seeking to provide resilient local electricity supplies for more of its bases.
A 10MW solar power system with a 1MW battery back-up was installed at Redstone Arsenal earlier this year by SunPower, the US company part-owned by Total, the French oil group. The army expects the system to save money, by cutting the power the base buys from the grid at peak times, as well as improving resilience.
SunPower has also installed solar systems at US navy and air force bases in Nevada and California.
The US Army this year opened a 50MW power plant at Schofield Barracks on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The plant, which can run either on imported diesel or biodiesel produced locally, was built under agreement with the utility Hawaiian Electric. In normal conditions it will be used to for the island’s grid, but in emergencies such as a hurricane it will provide dedicated power for the barracks and a local hospital and airfield.
As the price of battery storage fell it was becoming more affordable, Mr McGhee said. However, he added, the army still faced budget constraints, and was looking for innovative financing structures such as providing land for joint projects with private companies.
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