Cape Cod Times - A 'Green' Military: Make the Massachusetts Military Reservation Energy Independent.
Op-Ed
Cape Cod Times - A 'Green' Military: Make the Massachusetts Military Reservation Energy Independent.
Editorial
There's at least one silver lining to the skyrocketing costs of gasoline and mounting evidence of global warming a flurry of bills in Congress related to renewable energy.
But aside from some small-scale, individual projects developed across several sectors, there are few massive-scale, industrywide alternative energy projects up and running.
Most private companies and homeowners still think that the conversion costs from fossil fuels to solar or wind power are too prohibitive.
That's why U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, who represents the Cape and Islands in Congress, has written to the secretaries of the Army and Air Force to urge them to make the U.S. military a leader in renewable energy applications.
Closer to home, Delahunt wants to make the Massachusetts Military Reservation energy independent.
"MMR would be a great laboratory for renewable energy...and it is a model for working closely with the community," he said at a meeting with the Times editorial board last week.
If the Air Force can power one of its pollution-cleanup systems with a single wind turbine, why can't it power most of the base's electricity needs with windmills and solar panels? One 5-megawatt wind turbine can power 6,000 homes, which is more than enough to power Coast Guard housing at the base.
And unlike densely populated neighborhoods on the Cape, there is plenty of space on the 22,000-acre military reservation to build the wind turbines.
The Environmental Readiness Center at the base could partner with Upper Cape communities, renewable energy companies, including Cape Wind, and nearby research institutions to design a comprehensive renewable energy plan for the base. Lessons learned from the experience could be shared with Cape towns as they begin to allow more and more homeowners and businesses to build renewable energy systems.
Furthermore, as jets from the 102nd Fighter Wing begin to move to Westfield, and Otis tries to redefine its mission at the Upper Cape base, commanders should take the lead in proposing a military-renewable energy strategy.
After all, the Department of Defense is the largest single consumer of energy in the U.S., using 340,000 barrels of oil per day. If it can reduce its consumption (solar energy is meeting the electricity needs at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada), then private industry will follow suit.
With all the support for renewable energy in Congress, as demonstrated by the number of bills filed this year, the National Guard Bureau should seriously consider an alternative energy mission for the Massachusetts Military Reservation.
Source