Virtual storage: A force multiplier for the U.S. military

Editor's note: This is the third of a three-part series focused on virtual energy storage. Part I delved into the waybuildings can be used as batteries. Part II detailedhow virtual energy storage has the potential to revolutionize energy deliveryby allowing energy demand to match variability in supply.

With an annual energy bill in excess of $21 billion, the U.S. military is the largest consumer of energy in the world. As a result of its massive energy expenditures – and because, in the words of a senior military official, the fragility of the “grid leaves Department of Defense (DoD) vulnerable to service disruptions and places continuity of critical missions at serious and growing risk” — the U.S. military has setambitious targetsto reduce energy use anddeploy renewable energy sources. Unfortunately, however, the DoD has fallen short of recent facility energy intensity and renewable energy consumption goals.

Virtual storagecan help close this gap, enabling DoD to achieve its goals through increasing renewable generation, at lower cost than conventional energy solutions.

“节约能源节约生活s”

The U.S. military is a leading early adopter of green building design, renewable energy, energy efficiency and microgrids because these design strategies strengthen U.S. security, and are cost effective. The U.S. Navy, for example, has set a target of having half its bases be zero net energy (and largely self-sufficient) by 2020 through a combination of energy efficiency, clean energy generation and smart controls. How the military achieves this and how it addresses power storage challenges will have a significant impact on the cost effectiveness and resilience of U.S. military installations — and will hold important lessons for the rest of the economy.

下图说明的服务计划，每个分支如何降低油耗，和/或者增加可再生燃料和电力的使用。海军和海军陆战队已设置了最激进的目标。It is planning to reduce non-tactical vehicle petroleum fuel use by 50 percent and increase the use of alternative fuels 10 percent by 2015 simultaneously, and have 50 percent of its installations net zero energy with renewables by 2020 (EPAct 2005 EISA 2007, E.O. 13423).

US Military Energy Transition

As the largest energy consumer in the world, the DoD has realized the value and practicality of energy efficiency, officially codifying it as “a force multiplier” in the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review. This should come to no surprise to those familiar with DoD’s track record of technological innovation, which includes advances such as Geographical Positioning Systems (GPS) and the Internet.

Advances in energy — such as increasing the use of renewable energy supplies and reducing energy demand — simultaneously enhance military operational capability in forward-deployed combat environments while generating enormous cost savings to military installations. All the while, these efforts make our troops and mission critical systems more secure and reduce risks associated with climate change. As stated succinctly by Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “Saving energy saves lives.”

Eliminating mission-essential single points of failure — i.e. "critical nodes" — in order to strengthen national defense was at the heart of the Internet’s strategic development. Similarly, the U.S. military is now adopting an energy-design strategy involving microgrids to enhance security and reduce reliance upon the increasingly brittle electricity grid. As noted recently by a senior defense official, “We see microgrids as our salvation.”

These systems will combine on-site clean energy generation, energy efficiency and smart controls to allow greater efficiency and reliability. Integral to this approach will be the use of a virtual storage approach to shed and reshape load. Intelligent controls can increase efficiency of energy usage to augment the reliability and survivability of critical functions that require power to operate.

我们相信，下一代的创新将是唯一的国防部的突破中，因为对能源的前景，在马伦上将的话说，关于“不只是防守，但安全性，而不仅仅是生存，而是繁荣。”正如国防部长帕内塔承认，我们面临21世纪的系统性威胁，“现实情况是，有构成对我们的国家安全威胁的环境威胁。例如，气候变化领域对国家安全产生重大影响“。按照马伦的好消息是，我们的国防基础设施和系统持有的潜力，“有助于遏制气候变化相关战略安全问题潮”，同时提高运营效率。

Virtual storage can serve both strategic and tactical level defense needs, delivering costs while arming troops with “more fight — less fuel.”