Navy Taps Oceans for Power

[Turborama]

April 2010

By Grace V. Jean

As the Navy dives headlong into the challenge of meeting its alternative energy goals within the next decade, technologists are striving to help the service harness solar power trapped in ocean waters to generate electricity for its shore-side bases.

Facilities ashore consume a quarter of the Navy’s annual energy resources. Most are powered by the U.S. electrical grid, which relies on fossil fuel generators. In addition to being tied to the turbulent prices of foreign oil, the grid infrastructure is vulnerable to hacker attacks, says R. James Woolsey, senior advisor at Vantage Point and former co-chair of the Defense Science Board’s study on energy and defense.

Naval installations are shifting to grids powered by renewable energy sources, says Rear Adm. Philip Cullom, director of the Navy’s fleet readiness division. Within the next 10 years, officials plan to generate half of the service’s shore-based installation energy requirements from alternative sources.

“This is where renewables make a huge difference,” says Cullom, who is leading the Navy’s task force on energy. Officials intend to boost the use of solar, wind, ocean and geothermal energy sources on bases and in some cases also supply power to the U.S. grid.

Continues: http://tinyurl.com/Navy-Renewable-Energy

[midnight]

1. This sounds like some serious change is occurring if the military is moving

toward alternative energy that is renewable.

[OnlinePoker]

2. Or, maybe the military is actually using their budget for something useful. n/t

[PhD]

3. Fuel costs have hit the military hard

So alternative energy is a big deal to all the services right now.