Posts Tagged ‘renewable energy’

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Friday approved a plan establishing 17 solar energy zones, totaling 285,000 acres of public lands, in six western states that will serve as priority areas for large-scale solar development. The programmatic environmental impact statement approved by Salazar provides a blueprint for utility-scale solar energy permitting in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah by establishing solar energy zones with access to existing or planned transmission lines, and incentives for development within those zones …

The Chinese company that President Obama blocked on Friday from building four wind farms near a Navy training facility in northern Oregon has filed a lawsuit, saying the president’s order exceeded his authority. The executive order President Obama issued Friday directs Ralls Corp. to divest its interest in the wind farm projects that it recently acquired due to national security concerns. It does not specify what the risks are, however. The wind farm sites are all within or in the vicinity of restricted airspace at Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility Boardman. Because of the president’s broad authority over national security, the company is unlikely to win its suit, reported Reuters.

Defense Department spending on renewable energy programs, including conservation measures, will increase steadily over the next 12 years, reaching almost $1.8 billion in 2025, according to a new report from Pike Research. Driven by a combination of legislation, national and international policy, strategic imperatives, and operational requirements, clean technologies are moving into the mainstream of DOD spending, and the department now is one of the most important drivers of clean energy markets in the United States …

In the face of opposition from historic preservation groups, the Navy said last week it would consider alternative sites for a solar array it planned to install on the historic Ford Island runway in Pearl Harbor. The Navy’s plan calls for covering the island’s 4,000-foot runway and 14 surrounding acres with 60,000 solar panels. The solar project would be built, owned and operated by three firms under a $500 million contract …

In a review of 65 solar initiatives supported by six federal agencies, the Government Accountability Office found only a limited degree of overlap and “no clear instances of duplicative initiatives,” according to a recent report by the congressional watchdog agency. Furthermore, officials responsible for 57 of the initiatives indicated they coordinated in some way with other solar-related initiatives within their own agencies and with other agencies. The initiatives addressed the same broad areas of national need, GAO said, but the agencies tailored them to meet their specific missions …

The Pentagon obligated $1.0 billion in fiscal 2011 on energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, according to the department’s newly released FY 2011 Annual Energy Management Report. The largest share of funding came from direct appropriations through military construction, operation and maintenance, and defense working capital fund accounts. In FY 2011, the military funded 873 energy conservation, renewable energy and water conservation projects for $611 million …

The Air Force was the only military service in fiscal 2011 to meet the 2005 Energy Policy Act (EPAct) mandate that 5.0 percent of energy consumed at installations come from renewable energy sources, as it obtained 6.0 percent of its electricity consumption from renewables. Overall, the Defense Department acquired 3.1 percent of the electricity it consumed at installations from renewable sources. The Army obtained 0.5 percent of its electricity from alternative energy sources; the Navy, 1.0 percent; and the Marine Corps, 1.2 percent …

The Air Force is taking a comprehensive approach to meeting DOD’s energy goals, focusing on lowering the cost of energy, increasing the service’s energy capabilities and implementing a culture change among personnel. “We currently have 6 percent of our total electricity that comes from renewable alternative sources in fiscal year 2011,” said Kevin Geiss, deputy assistant secretary for energy. “That is 131 projects, across 56 installations, giving us 37 [megawatts] of total production …

The public will get a chance Oct. 1 to see Naval Support Activity Washington’s updated visitor’s center, now a completed net zero project that reduces electrical energy…

Many U.S. installations in Europe are more energy-efficient than those in the U.S., Assistant Army Secretary for Installations, Energy and Environment Katherine Hammack said in a press release after a 10-day tour of installations in Germany and Italy…