Department of Defense and geothermal energy

Department of Defense and geothermal energy

The U.S. Department of Defense is exploring renewable energy possibilities. The focus on sustainability is coming from the desire to decrease dependence on foreign energy resources, increasing energy security and decreasing operational expenses. The Federal Times reported that since 1987 the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, has been using geothermal wells to produce about 270 megawatts of energy annually. This has allows the base to produce energy for 180,000 homes and make it the largest renewable energy project within the agency.

According to the news source, the Department of Defense has been working on increasing the number of renewable installations it has. So far, the agency has increased the number of projects from 489 in 2009 to 679 in 2012. So far, nine of these projects are geothermal energy installations. In 2011, geothermal energy use made up about 74 percent of all renewable energy used by the department’s installations.

The agency is focusing more and more time and money investing in renewable energy installations like geothermal.

“In our current fiscal environment, attracting third-party money to build renewable energy production facilities that will allow military installations to purchase energy at a pre-determined rate without building, owning and maintaining the facility is the right thing to do,” said Colonel Robert Ruch, commander of the Corps’ Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, according to Defense Communities.

Geothermal energy uses the solar energy stored within the earth to power systems and provide heating and cooling for structures. It is the ideal solution because of its durability and lack of required maintenance. For the Department of Defense, it’s crucial to invest in the systems that best work with current operations.