Budget

Pentagon Promises Massive Response to Increasing Cyber Attacks

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The Pentagon plans to add more than 4,000 people to its efforts to combat the growing number of cyberattacks in the country and to take the offensive against attacks from foreign countries.

Increasing the Defense Department’s Cyber Command by more than 4,000, well above today’s level of 900, will be a challenge, a New York Times article quoted defense officials as saying. The department said officials know that recruiting, training and retaining that many qualified people will be a difficult chore. Keep reading →

Published February 1, 2013 at 1:00 PM

US Military Open for Private Sector Renewable Energy Ideas

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US President Barack Obama (L) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (R) tour Photovoltaic Array at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 27, 2009 with Base Commander Colonel Howard Belote.

The US military services want to derive 3 gigawatts of electric capacity from renewables by 2025, but they don’t have the budget to pay to build it. Keep reading →

Published June 15, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Biofuels: Better for Airplanes, Too?

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Biofuels could be a “game changer” for both military and commercial aviation, says Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Terry Yonkers, because they’re proving to have advantages over petroleum-based jet fuels that go beyond the environment.

Biofuels are produced from plant feedstocks or organic wastes. Public and private research has been focusing on production from non-food sources like algae, camelina, and jatropha, and on sustainable and economic ways to cultivate them. Keep reading →

Published June 13, 2012 at 3:00 PM

Why is it Difficult to Connect US Veterans With Energy Jobs?

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The electric utility industry needs to replace nearly half of its skilled workforce as a generation reaches retirement age in the next few years. Keep reading →

Published June 5, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Marines May Soon Carry Solar Backpacks

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According to researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), one of the Marine Corps’ most significant challenges is finding a way to provide reliable electricity to soldiers in forward operating bases. Like the rest of us, the U.S. military is desperate for ways to reduce its fuel and battery consumption. It’s widely recognized that solar panels are one of the only technologies that can provide a portable, affordable source of power to those on the front lines. Keep reading →

Published May 25, 2012 at 2:00 PM

Gas Fired Power Plants Grow in Both Size and Mobility

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The recent growth in US natural gas production, growing power needs in emerging markets and strong momentum behind sustainability measures represent strong tailwinds for Pratt & Whitney’s Power Systems Division, but challenges remain.

The power systems division accounted for a relatively small share – roughly 5% – of Pratt & Whitney’s total $12.7 billion in 2011 sales. But at a recent press briefing in the company’s headquarters of Hartford, Connecticut, President Dave Hess told reporters the power system division has experienced five years of steady growth. The company expects revenue generated by the Power systems division to increase by about 23% year-on-year in 2012. Keep reading →

Published May 8, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Military Fostering Wide Range of Innovative Energy Solutions

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A House Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, on March 22, 2012 in Washington, DC.

The U.S. military can jump-start commercialization of energy innovations by serving as a test bed for new ideas, top Department of Defense officials say.




Dorothy Robyn, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment, told the Edison Foundation’s Powering the People 2.0 conference in Washington March 22 that DOD manages over 300,000 buildings – “three times as many as Walmart” – on 28 million acres. Keep reading →

Published March 26, 2012 at 3:00 PM

Solar Power Kicks In At Edwards Airforce Base

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What’s big, green and set to save taxpayers money over the course of the next 30 years? A new 3.4 megawatt (MW) solar power installation at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California, that’s what. Comprising three ground-mounted, single-axis tracking solar farms, the system was built and is owned by Borrego Solar, which will sell power to the military base under the terms of an in-house power purchase agreement (PPA).

“Our utility bill can range anywhere from $15 million to $18 million a year and our utility bills for the summer actually double, but our consumption only goes up 3 percent,” said James Judkins, 95th Civil Engineering director, Edwards Air Force Base, in a statement. “What we’re trying to do (with this project) is not so much conserve energy, but save money.” Keep reading →

Published March 12, 2012 at 12:30 PM

Lightbulb Rider In Omnibus Spending Bill Stirs Controversy

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Five years ago, Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act, which included a provision to phase out inefficient incandescent light bulbs requiring 25% greater efficiency beginning in 2012.

Now as the start date for the bill looms, Republicans have attached a rider to the omnibus spending bill that would take away the Department of Energy’s ability to enforce the law and establish civil penalties for violating it. State attorney generals would instead be in charge of reviewing complaints and enforcing the law. Keep reading →

Published December 19, 2011 at 6:00 AM