It's ALL ABOUT ENERGY

Energy resilience and independence are not just desirable – they are mission-critical. Consider the impact of Hurricane Florence on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in 2018. An 11-day power outage at Camp Johnson, a key training area, resulted in major operational disruptions, training and deployment delays, and an estimated $1M loss daily during the power interruption. The recovery for the base lasted nearly a year. This reality underscores installation vulnerability, a key concern at the TEVCON event CANA attended this spring in San Diego, California. Key federal and commercial industry stakeholders were on hand to address the major challenges and identify opportunities in advancing energy resilience.

So what are some ways the military is taking action? Natural disasters aren’t once in a lifetime events, and are, in fact, occurring with greater frequency as the world grapples with climate change. Concerns like aging infrastructure, rising energy demands, supply chain disruptions, and cyber and physical threats, among others, increase the urgency of developing a wide range of energy solutions.

• Microgrids: Localized, independent energy networks with distributed resources like solar, wind, battery storage, and gas generators are being implemented to ensure on-site power generation and operational continuity.

• Renewable Energy Investments: Increasing on-site clean energy generation to reduce reliance on the grid and lower environmental impact.

• Energy Efficiency Measures: Reducing overall energy consumption to minimize demand.

• Exploring Advanced Technologies: 

  • The future includes microreactors. Small, modular nuclear reactors offer the potential for secure, reliable, and independent power generation, even in remote locations like those likely in dispersed operations. The DoD's ANPI program has a goal of two operational microreactors at military bases by 2030. The intent is for these reactors to provide 100 percent of all critical loads. 

  • Solutions will be found all along the spectrum, reinforcing the need to not rely upon a single source for energy needs. CANA's work includes research and testing on the utilization of 5G as a source of wireless power transmission, offering a potential capability that is widely available, plentiful, and discrete.

    
    

Investing in energy resilience isn't just about preventing disruptions; it's about enhancing military readiness, reducing operational costs, and ensuring our forces can effectively respond to any challenge.