In the U.S. Army’s new Climate Strategy, a long range commitment to climate and energy resilience, the U.S. Secretary of Defense said there are few threats in the world facing the Army that rise to the level of “existential,” but climate change is one of them.
“The risks associated with climate change are broad, significant and urgent,” the plan reads. “These risks will impact the Army at all levels: from how and where units operate and train, to how the service as a whole equips and sustains soldiers to fight in multi-domain operations.”
The plan outlines a set of goals and initiatives for the Army to undertake over the next 30 years, chief among them is a prioritization of microgrids. Currently, there are 950 renewable energy projects, supplying 480 megawatts of power to the Army today, with 25 microgrid projects are “scoped and planned through 2024.”
At the top of its “intermediate objectives” is a commitment to install microgrids on every Army installation by 2035.
“In collaboration with adjacent communities and stakeholders, the Army and its partners will invest across all its installations in onsite, backup renewable generation; large-scale battery storage; microgrids; and utility systems updated to current industry standards,” the plan reads.
I’m not sure it’s “so goes the Army so goes the country” but this prioritization is as clear as an endorsement as any from the public sector on microgrids.