By Eric Lindeman
A new report from the Brookings Institution calls on the Department of Defense to reduce its baseline energy consumption by 20 percent by 2025 and to become a net-zero energy consumer at its bases and other facilities by 2030.
According to the Aug. 25 report, “Fueling the Balance,” the most significant percentage of the overall reduction in energy use will come from the department converting from petroleum to alternative forms of energy and increasing efficiency.
Co-authors Jerry Warner and Peter Singer, both former members of presidential candidate Barack Obama’s 2008 defense policy task force, argue that the reduction targets should be an integral part of the Quadrennial Defense Review–the document that sets out the Pentagon’s overall vision of strategy, programs and resources every four years. The next review is due to Congress in early 2010.
“After years of dithering, we must resolve the looming issue of energy security and its implications on the readiness of the U.S. military,” Warner and Singer said. “The path to continued readiness requires reducing the overall amount of energy that DoD uses and increasingly turning to alternative energy sources to meet fuel needs.”
With foreign oil accounting for about 60 percent of total U.S. consumption, DoD is the world’s single largest consumer of energy.
“Moving the DoD away from reliance on petroleum will ultimately address the long-standing irony of fueling our defense establishment from a system that threatens our nation’s security,” the report says. “As such, our military can help ‘lead the way’ for the nation by reducing its petroleum dependency.”
The report acknowledges that DoD has not been ignoring the oil issue in recent years, citing, for example, the 140-acre solar array outside of Nellis Air Force base in Nevada and the deployment of “tactical biorefineries” to Iraq to convert waste products in the field into biofuels for forward operating bases.
The economic stimulus provided $300 million for more than 50 DoD alternative energy projects, and the department’s annual budget contains another $75 million, including funds for a large solar installation at the Army’s Fort Irwin in California.
DoD is making enormous progress in adopting alternative energy and energy efficiencies at its bases. “But, this is equivalent to insulating the roof of your house, but not the walls,” the authors said.
“That is, only about 25 percent of DoD’s total energy use comes from installation and base power sources. By contrast, the other 75 percent and the billions spent on force structure, fuel logistics and research and acquisition lacks similar imperatives and oversight structure.
“While the energy issue is being given more credence than in the past, it still lags in institutional support. Without firm requirements, defense contractors that sell to the department don’t yet know how seriously to program energy efficiency into their submissions, while the issue is yet to be seen as an operational concern by all.”
Responding to recommendations from the Defense Science Board and Government Accountability Office, Congress called for establishing a “Director, Operational Energy Plans and Programs” in the fiscal year 2009 Defense Appropriations Bill. The measure was intended to consolidate oversight of energy-related issues within DoD.
Although the Bush administration declined to act on the proposal, the Obama administration is trying to bring the idea to fruition. “This new position and office,” the authors reported, “will be responsible for the development and implementation of an operational energy strategy supported by key metrics, including energy efficiency Key Performance Parameters.”
The report concludes that a DoD-wide strategy, incorporating leadership, management structure, environmental requirements and dedicated resources, is needed to pull together the various components of the U.S. military. “What is needed is the establishment of clear leadership on energy issues, the institution of sound management, technology research, and procurement practices, and the provision of DoD with the resources it needs to improve its energy security.”