1/14/2020 Clean energy is a matter of national security; even the military knows it

Clean energy is a matter of national security;

even the military knows it
by Adam Browning & Jon Powers | July 07, 2017 12:01 AM

The Trump administration appears to be taking a swing at both states' rights and national
security. A forthcoming Department of Energy study on grid reliability ordered by Energy
Secretary Rick Perry appears to be designed to undermine state's renewable energy
leadership based on purported national security concerns. This position goes against
everything the national security community has learned about energy security over the
past few decades.

The U.S. military is leading by example in developing and employing smart new clean
energy technologies at scale. If the Department of Defense were a corporation, it would be
the biggest business in the United States. It manages more than 500,000 buildings with
over 2.2 billion square feet. That is over three times the square footage Wal-Mart currently
operates.

Energy touches every part of the military's mission, and domestically it must ensure energy
security and reliability to fulfill that mission. Whether it be drone flights over the Middle
East that are piloted out of Air Force hangars in Nevada or vital communications systems
supporting Naval fleets in the Pacific, they all need to be able to operate regardless of how
the local grid is running.

A recent study found 90 percent of the country's critical power needs could be met by
renewable energy. For the Department of Defense, the transition is an operational
imperative. That is why the Army, Navy, and Air Force are each pursuing an impressive goal
to develop one gigawatt of renewable energy to power their installations by 2025 —
enough to power about 700,000 U.S. homes. The Navy has already met its goal years ahead
of schedule.

Building a modern energy system that makes use of our plentiful renewable resources and
American ingenuity is key to our grid security and national security. In fact, the real
vulnerability would be continued reliance on a model of centralized power plants delivering
energy over an antiquated grid — a relic from the time of Thomas Edison.

This outdated energy system burdens us with regular outages and seasonal price spikes
that range from inconvenient to catastrophic. Hurricane Sandy demonstrated just how
costly continued dependence on that antiquated energy system can be. According to the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the total cost of damage from this
super storm was almost $70 billion. Major operations up and down the East Coast were
shut down. Local utilities in Delaware, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut could not
provide reliable power to customers for weeks.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/clean-energy-is-a-matter-of-national-security-even-the-military-knows-it 1/3
1/14/2020 Clean energy is a matter of national security; even the military knows it

Whether it was big box stores, office buildings, or data centers, finding the fuel to put into
their diesel generators was nearly impossible as they competed against hospitals and
military operations during the clean-up. This is not the first time extreme weather has
crippled our outdated grid's ability to service its customers. The 2014 polar vortex froze
stockpiles of coal and interrupted on-site fuel supply in the eastern and southern U.S.,

contributing to over 35,000 megawatts of outages at the height of the event. Strong wind
power production during this time helped grid operators both fill in power supply gaps and
battle surging power prices.

This year, the U.S. Army contracted solar and wind to power about half of Fort Hood's
operations, the largest active-duty armored post in the U.S. It did so for security reasons- to
ensure that the base has access to power if the grid is attacked, for instance- and will save
taxpayers millions in the process.

The administration should not be shackling states' ability to create real energy security that
moves our country forward. Our nation's economic competitiveness and security both
depend on our ability to lead on clean energy. America's military knows this. We urge Perry
to keep our country pointed towards that more resilient 21st-century approach to energy.

Jon Powers is an Iraq Veteran, former Chief Sustainability Officer of the Federal
Government, and founder of Operation Free. Adam Browning is co-founder and executive
director of Vote Solar.

Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the

Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our
guidelines on submissions.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/clean-energy-is-a-matter-of-national-security-even-the-military-knows-it 2/3
1/14/2020 Clean energy is a matter of national security; even the military knows it

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/clean-energy-is-a-matter-of-national-security-even-the-military-knows-it 3/3