Renewable energy, energy efficiency drive by NATO armed forces

NATO Armed Forces Embrace Renewable Energy BRUSSELS, Belgium, July 11, 2013 (ENS) – The 28 member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are reducing the energy footprint of their defenseoperations as a priority, top NATO officials said this week.

NATO as a military and political organization, as well as individual allies, are working with alternative energy sources and developing multinational “smart energy” projects……. The DoD is seeking to develop solar,
wind, geothermal and other distributed energy sources on its bases both to reduce their $4 billion-a-year energy bill and to make them less dependent on the commercial electricity grid. Such on-site energy generation, together with energy storage and so-called smart-microgrid technology, would allow a military base to maintain its critical operations “off-grid” for weeks or months if the grid is disrupted, the DOD says……..

Experiments have shown that energy savings can be made by using new
materials for tent insulation and sun screens; by centralizing and
better managing air conditioning and heating; and by changing the
behavior of soldiers.

Fossil fuel dependence can be reduced by investing in renewable
energies such as solar power and waste-to-energy systems.

NATO is seeking to raise awareness of the energy challenge and
identify best practices among national projects for the smart use of
energy through the Smart Energy Team.

“In the context of its Smart Energy Team, NATO has begun to explore
more efficient energy solutions for cooling and heating tents,
including adjustable load generators, heat pumps, floor heating and
materials for insulation and for storing generated energy and solar
energy,” says Michael Ruhle, head of the Energy Security Section in
NATO’s Emerging Security Challenges Division.
Set up after the Chicago Summit in May 2012 and financed through the
NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme, the Smart Energy Team
is jointly directed by the Lithuania-based NATO Energy Security Centre
of Excellence and by the Joint Environment Department of the Swedish
Armed Forces.

The team is made up of experts from eight nations, including six
allies – Canada, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, the United
Kingdom and the United States – and two partners, Australia and
Sweden. The team’s purpose is to recommend and initiate multinational
projects under NATO’s Smart Defence initiative.

Advanced energy generation and saving technologies were presented at
the Smart Energy camp set up at the military logistics exercise,
“Capable Logistician 2013” that took place in Slovakia in June……..
Under the multi-year NATO Science for Peace and Security project
“Sahara Trade Winds to Hydrogen,” the Alliance supports cooperation
between NATO and Mediterranean Dialogue countries to develop
cutting-edge hydrogen technology to store and transport renewable
energy from wind turbines.
http://ens-newswire.com/2013/07/11/nato-armed-forces-embrace-renewable-energy/