Posts Tagged ‘energy’

The Senate continued its second day of debate on the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill, slogging its way through dozens of amendments with a final vote expected by week’s end. Senate leaders are aiming to finish their work on the measure, S. 3254, as early as Friday. Votes covered a variety of issues, including the custody of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, veterans benefits, wartime contracting, military health care and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan …

The Air Force will test a new concentrated solar power technology at Edwards AFB, Calif., under a $2.3 million contract awarded to Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) for a 200-kilowatt solar system. Durham, N.C.-based Semprius will provide PWR 2,400 modules using its high concentration photovoltaic technology. The company’s proprietary technology relies on pinhead-sized solar cells and is significantly more efficient than other photovoltaic systems. If the project proves cost effective, the technology likely would be deployed at other installations, reported Hydrogen Fuel News.

The Senate on Wednesday began debating a slew of amendments to the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill after overcoming a hold placed on the measure by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Paul had insisted on securing a vote on his amendment guaranteeing a jury trial for Americans detained in terrorism cases, but relented Tuesday when he agreed to settle for a vote on a similar amendment offered by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). The chamber began debating that amendment Wednesday night …

An amendment the Senate may consider when it takes up the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill would limit DOD’s use of the LEED certification system for rating the sustainability of new building construction. The amendment, filed by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), comes in response to complaints from domestic wood producers that the most popular green building ratings system favors foreign products such as bamboo …

Officials from DOD, the Navy and E.ON Climate & Renewables North America reached agreement this week to allow the developer to construct up to 100 wind turbines at a site located about halfway between Naval Air Stations Kingsville and Corpus Christi in South Texas. The agreement, which calls for Chicago-based ECRNA to provide DOD $750,000 in funding for research and testing into solutions to mitigate potential impacts of the wind farm on military radar, is intended to preserve the two installations’ pilot training missions …

A photovoltaic array being installed at Fort Rucker, Ala., is expected to save the Army thousands of dollars a year and help the installation take a step toward achieving net zero status. The 51-kilowatt array is directly connected to Alabama Power’s electrical grid, so any energy that is generated at Hatch Stage Field that isn’t used can be fed back onto the grid …

Up to 4,700 military homes will be outfitted with solar arrays at Fort Bliss, Texas, and White Sands Missile Range, N.M., starting in January, Balfour Beatty Communities and SolarCity announced this week. The project is the latest phase in SolarStrong, SolarCity’s five-year plan to build more than $1 billion in solar projects at up to 120,000 military homes across the nation. The 13.2-megawatt project is being developed under an equipment lease, primarily financed by Bank of America Merrill Lynch …

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam will be using a hydrogen fuel cell power system manufactured by Hydrogenics Corp., the Mississauga, Canada-based developer of hydrogen generation and power system products announced last week. The system will integrate Hydrogenics’ power systems, power electronic converters and hardware in an outdoor-housed container to supply 100 kilowatts of power output at the joint Air Force-Navy base in Honolulu …

While pairing standby generators — say, a gas turbine — with wind or solar farms is not financially viable in most markets, it can make sense at military installations, according to an analysis in Aol Energy. “The biggest opportunity to pair standby generators with renewable energy is in small grids,” such as on military bases and islands, the article states. One reason for the exception is the likelihood that locations with small grids are subject to high energy costs …

An $80.6 million partnership with Honeywell Building Solutions announced this week is expected to save Tinker Air Force Base more than $170 million over 20 years by trimming its consumption of natural gas and water. The effort, accomplished through an energy savings performance contract, will be funded through the guaranteed savings in utility costs at the installation located outside of Oklahoma City …