W
hen the Army examines power and energy, there are three components: Soldier power, basing power, and
vehicle power, said Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Instal- lations, Energy, and Environment.
From working toward Net Zero on Army installations—whereby renewable tech- nologies supply the installation’s energy needs—to lightening the Soldier’s battery load and improving vehicle fuel efficiency, the Army’s efforts to improve its use of power and energy are widespread.
POWERING SOLDIERS One of the Army’s main concerns is pro- viding Soldier power.
Capturing energy is an important aspect of this, said MG Nickolas G. Justice, Commanding General (CG), U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM). “If you want to speed your maneuver, deliver more accu- rate fires, and be able to communicate, you have got to unburden units and Soldiers from having to spend most of their time maintaining and sustaining themselves on the battlefield,” he said. “Everything is a conversion of energy, and so we are interested in everything that can capture a conversion of some kind of energy stored to some kind of energy in motion.”
Renewable energy sources are a key com- ponent of ensuring that U.S. Soldiers remain lethal and capable, Hammack said.
“They’re [Soldiers] well-equipped, but with that equipping comes a heavy power load,” she added. “Our Soldiers right now, when they deploy, carry as many as 74 different kinds of batteries, ranging from the size of an eraser all the way up to the size of a brick.”
Justice added that energy is wasted when Soldiers carry heavy batteries because
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their value to the Soldier is in power, not weight, which requires more human energy to carry.
RDECOM is also looking into the devel- opment of high-density and conformal batteries, Justice said. Rather than a brick- like battery carried on a Soldier’s side, conformal batteries are incorporated into a Soldier’s body armor so that the batter- ies become part of the equipment rather than an additional piece.
NET ZERO ENERGY
“The cornerstone of basing power is Net Zero,” Hammack said. Net Zero focuses on reducing the amount of energy and water used on installations, as well as how waste is handled, so that the installation produces only as much energy as it uses; limits the consumption of fresh water and returns it to the same watershed; and reduces, reuses, or recycles waste streams.
The Army asked for volunteers to pilot the Net Zero project and received an overwhelming response, Hammack said.
A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE
The Army had several examples of energy-saving technologies on display, including a tent with solar cells and a solar-powered water purifier, during the Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, DC in October 2011. (U.S. Army photo by C. Todd Lopez.)
Officials selected Fort Carson, CO, and Fort Bliss, TX, to be Net Zero in all three focus areas by 2020, with other installa- tions working to be Net Zero in only one or two categories by 2020.
Fort Bliss is hoping to beat the 2020 goal, setting a goal of Net Zero in energy by 2015 and Net Zero in water and waste by 2018, said MG Dana J.H. Pittard, CG, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss. “Many people thought [that] was way too aggres- sive,” he said. “But after we looked at everything we could possibly do, we think it’s more than doable.”
Pittard explained that Fort Bliss is examin- ing the implementation of a 20-megawatt solar facility, a 20-megawatt gas turbine, micro-grids, and a waste-to-energy facil- ity to move toward Net Zero. Fort Bliss is working with local utilities to aid in that effort.
One of the more difficult aspects of Fort Bliss becoming Net Zero in all three areas has been the immense growth the post has
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