NEW ENERGY IN THE FIGHT FOR AFGHANISTAN

Renewable Energy at Work in War Zones
Bill Scanlon, August 5, 2010 (National Renewable Energy Laboratory Newsroom)

"…[W]arfare and renewable energy have had a rough relationship…It's tough to erect wind turbines or solar panels when the enemy keeps blowing things up…Still, Lt. Col. Brian Stevens of the Texas Army National Guard…leads a group of 66 soldiers who want to help bring sustainable agriculture and renewable energy to rural Afghanistan…"

[Lt. Col. Brian Stevens, Energy Executive, Texas Army National Guard:] "There's no national power grid in Afghanistan…Power is generated where it's needed, usually using a diesel generator…There's a little bit of micro-hydro power, a little bit of wind, a little bit of solar already in Afghanistan, built by Coalition units, the Afghan government, and non-government organizations…Unfortunately it's usually not very sustainable by the Afghan government. In most cases, they don't have the trained people, the supplies or the means to continue the operations. As soon as the sponsors pull away, the installations typically don't survive very long.”

Look at that sun! (click to enlarge)

"Stevens hopes to change that, knowing that the task is formidable…[I]nstead of immediately erecting devices that will catch the wind or the sun's rays, his National Guard unit will focus on education and how to integrate these capabilities into the agricultural sector…"

[Lt. Col. Brian Stevens, Energy Executive, Texas Army National Guard:] "Any projects that we would build directly would become lucrative targets of the Taliban…We're hoping to work with the Afghan government to implement a curriculum at the college, then build a demonstration plant that the university would own…They could use it as a hands-on solar and wind power learning experience. That way you'd have educated young people able to sustain projects and build bigger projects down the road, while they also develop suppliers and experience."

There places with excellent wind. (click to enlarge)

"The Taliban and Al Qaeda can blow up things and chase the population away, but…[they can’t destroy the knowledge of how to do things]… Most of all, Stevens wants to avoid doing something counterproductive, such as building wind farms where the wind isn't strong enough, or putting up solar panels where there is too much shade…[T]he most successful renewable energy program in Afghanistan has used micro-hydro, generating power from the substantial spring melt off of snow running down the mountains…Afghanistan has a four-month windy season in the spring, the same time of year when micro-hydro has the greatest potential. In the summer, it gets hot and dry in many places, ideal for generating solar energy."

[Lt. Col. Brian Stevens, Energy Executive, Texas Army National Guard:] "In Afghanistan, even the easy stuff is hard, politically complicated…And you have the Taliban and anti-government forces. Some of them are just criminals, opportunists wanting to get their cut. So they don't want to see this (reconstruction success) happen…There is the extreme element in every country. But most of the Afghan people want the same things we do — security, drinking water, they want their kids to be able to go to school. There is an element that wants to establish a functional government, and an extremist element that wants power and contro…By doing this, we can help protect the Afghan people and prevent the extremists from attacking our country again…[T]he Afghans are great people, very hospitable and gracious. They just don't have many of the great opportunities that we have, yet."