PACIFIC COMMAND BUILDS NEW ENERGY

Renewable energy surging
Greg Wiles, September 8, 2009 (Honolulu Advertiser via Boston Herald)

"The U.S. Pacific Command…is expected formally to sign off on a document supporting the Hawai’i Clean Energy Initiative. The command’s energy strategy calls for it to at least meet the Energy Initiative’s target of getting 70 percent of energy from renewable sources by the year 2030…[T]hrough its funding of test projects in wave energy, ocean thermal conversion and hydrogen production, the department has quietly become one of the prime players in Hawai’i’s efforts to shift to renewable energy sources…

"…[T]he Department of Defense [wants] to lower use of foreign oil for national security reasons while meeting federal mandates for clean energy use…Hawai’i, which gets about 90 percent of its energy from petroleum products, wants to become the nation’s leader in renewables by switching to clean energy sources…[L]essons learned and practices developed [by the Pacific Command] here could be spread [to other bases]…"

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"…[T]he Department of Defense is already [has] photovoltaic installations at several buildings, tests of wave-generated electricity off Marine Corps Base Hawaii and [is] using photovoltaic and wind energy to produce hydrogen for vehicles used in flight lines at Hickam Air Force Base…The Marine Corps may install a similar hydrogen plant in Kane’ohe…[as well as] a 60- to 70-megawatt solar farm and bioenergy plant…[T]he Navy awarded an $8.1 million contract to Lockheed Martin Corp. to advance development of ocean thermal energy conversion systems, something that could result in a 10-megawatt plant being built off Kahe Point.

"The state has talked to the military about locating transmission stations for a proposed 30-megawatt windfarm in Kahuku on Army land…[and] the military is also supporting the state’s proposed transmission cable between wind farms on Lana’i, Moloka’i and O’ahu…[as well as work] on smart grids, liquid desiccant solar ventilation air conditioning and achieving energy savings through use of spray foam insulation…"

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"The Defense Energy Support Center figures to be a prime player in the development of renewables nationally… [to meet requirements of the federal Energy Acts of 2005 and 2007 to have] at least 5 percent of electricity used by federal facilities and fleets be from renewable sources during the next two fiscal years…[and] 7.5 percent in fiscal 2013…[T]he National Defense Authorization Act of 2007, requires installations to produce or procure one quarter of their electricity from renewables by 2025…The center is also working to help the Air Force get 50 percent of its domestic aviation fuel from alternate sources [such as biofuels and algae oil] by 2016…

"But by agreeing to meet the Hawai’i requirements, the military hopes to go beyond federal mandates. The state initiative calls for meeting the 25 percent renewable electricity goal five years earlier than 2025, and for 40 percent to be achiev-ed by 2030…The department also has programs to reduce…[new buildings] fossil-fuel energy usage by 65 percent by 2015…[T]his could reduce the military’s electricity bill by $42 million annually…"