DOD and Department of Interior Band Together to Leverage Available Land for Renewable Energy Development

The U.S. Defense Department has announced that it will open up 13 million acres surrounding bases for development of renewable power projects, like solar and wind.  The goal is to help the military reduce its $4 billion annual energy bill and to provide energy independence for security puroses.

A study released by the Defense Department this year estimates that land surrounding just four military bases in Southern California could generate seven gigawatts of solar energy.  The January 2012 report concluded:

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.

Accordingly, on August 6, 2012 Leon Panetta announced a joint memorandum of understanding between the Departments of Defense and the Interior that sets aside public lands and other onshore and offshore areas near military installations for development of renewable energy projects.

Each of the military services has committed to deploy 1 gigawatt of renewable energy on or near its installations by 2025. .... Defense installations encompass roughly 28 million acres in the United States, of which 16 million acres previously managed by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management were withdrawn for military use by executive order, congressional legislation or departmental regulations. About 13 million acres of these withdrawn lands are in the West and are high in wind, solar and geothermal resources.

Offshore wind also is an abundant renewable energy resource available to many coastal installations. Offshore Atlantic winds alone could produce an estimated 1,000 gigawatts of energy, Interior Department officials said.

The memo ... establishes a framework for an offshore wind partnership in which the Defense and Interior departments will continue to work together to identity areas most appropriate for offshore wind development. To encourage a dialogue with industry, the departments will co-chair a military/industry offshore wind forum this fall to initiate information sharing among the military, other federal agencies and industry. ....  [T]he Defense Department will explore ways in which renewable energy could be provided directly to a single installation or may be transmitted across a network of installations. Some larger projects could involve the sale of excess power to the grid, provided appropriate measures ensure base security. ....  DOD and the Bureau of Land Management will develop a pilot process for authorizing solar energy projects on several military installations, including the Barry M. Goldwater Range and Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona and Fort Irwin, Calif. The Defense Department will take the lead in permitting and leasing for renewable energy projects on lands withdrawn for defense-related purposes.