To mitigate the effects of global climate change, reduce dependence on carbon-producing energy, and maintain energy resilience and reliability for critical national defense operations, the Department of Defense (DoD) must make significant investments in improving and hardening its energy-related infrastructure. Key near-term objectives for DoD installations include the installation of microgrid systems and distributed energy resources to support mission-critical loads that mitigate utility grid outages for up to 12 days, as well as the transition to carbon-free power generation.
Executive Orders Lead to Energy Climate Action Plans
President Biden issued two executive orders in 2021 to address the climate crisis. Executive Order No. 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (2021) ordered that the U.S. put the climate crisis at the center of U.S. foreign policy and national security. Among other requirements, the executive order directed the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to consider the security implications of climate change in developing the National Defense Strategy and other relevant strategy, planning, and programming documents.
Executive Order No. 14057: Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs through Federal Sustainability (2021) requires a whole-of-government approach to achieve a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2025 and net-zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050. This executive order included specific energy targets to achieve the President’s overarching goals and mandated that each federal head of agency propose their targets to meet the requirements.
In response, each DoD service component developed and published Energy Climate Action Plans that identify specific goals and targets that support compliance with the executive orders. The plans focus on near-term goals to support mandated reductions in greenhouse gases and mitigate the impacts of extreme weather. For DoD shore installations and associated infrastructure, intermediate objectives include requirements to increase infrastructure resiliency, transition to carbon-free power, and electrify non-tactical vehicle fleets.
DoD Infrastructure Hardening with ERCIP
One of the most effective programs that allows direct investment in installation infrastructure hardening requirements is the Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program (ERCIP). ERCIP is a subset of the Defense-Wide Military Construction Program that funds projects that address energy resilience, security, and conservation. ERCIP, and its predecessor, the Energy Conservation Investment Program (ECIP), have existed for years but have recently grown exponentially in funding and importance in response to the demand for energy-related requirements, with projected budgets approaching $1 billion annually.
Through the ERCIP, potential projects are planned and developed at the installation level and compete for funding from the DoD-wide Military Construction budget. Projects are selected for submission to Congress as part of a deliberative and prioritized process that considers mission criticality and an all-hazards threat assessment.
In addition to reducing installation carbon footprints, existing law found in 10 United States Code 2920 requires that the Secretary of Defense shall, by the end of fiscal year 2030, provide 100 percent of the energy load required to maintain the critical missions of each installation at a minimum level of availability of 99.9 percent per fiscal year. This further requires the services to:
- Promote the use of multiple and diverse sources of energy, with an emphasis favoring energy resources originating on the installation, such as modular generation.
- Promote installing microgrids to ensure energy security and energy resilience of critical missions.
- Favor the use of full-time, installed energy sources rather than emergency generation.
Accordingly, most approved ERCIP projects focus on improving electrical infrastructure resiliency to include the installation of microgrid systems. They also incorporate various distributed energy resources, including generators, solar photovoltaics, and battery energy storage that enables the installation to disconnect from the local electrical utility and operate off the grid—ideally for 14 days continuously. This focus is consistent with the services’ warfighter priorities to improve and protect the energy infrastructure that supports their critical mission related systems and platforms.
Implications for Public Utilities
These ERCIP projects present both benefits and challenges for public utilities. On one hand, the implementation of ERCIP projects is providing more resilient grid connections and the system improvements added by the customer are resulting in less system interruptions. In limited examples, like the microgrid system at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS), Miramar, California, the installation has disconnected to remove its load from the grid to alleviate system-wide brownouts. They have even proven to be able to push energy back onto the grid from the installation’s multiple DERs when needed.
On the other hand, as DoD microgrids and distributed energy sources proliferate, complexities associated with the ownership, operation, and maintenance of installation energy systems multiply. Myriad regulations plus utility interconnection agreements associated with the delivery of energy combine to delay efforts to move projects forward. A complete understanding of the electrical distribution and delivery systems’ ownership and operations agreements is essential. DoD continues to privatize on-base utility systems, leverage enhanced used leases, and employ Other Transactional Authority (OTA) to obtain energy. In some cases, the DoD owns, but does not operate or maintain their systems. Each installation has its own set of issues related to geography, tenant and mission requirements, constraints, and opportunities. Installation commanders have considerable latitude to determine and define their unique requirements.
Many of these systems require complicated electromagnetic projection systems for power quality, harmonics stabilization, transient load capacity, and rapid recovery from outages or grid interruptions. Additionally, the systems require normal maintenance and present challenges such as aging systems, grid anomalies, and technically challenging load requirements from data-rich IT systems, intelligence gathering, and global communications requirements.
Successfully integrating the hardened infrastructure into the existing system requires early and frequent communication with all stakeholders, including utility providers and owners. These projects require close coordination with local electrical utility providers regarding code standards, interconnection agreements, metering requirements, protection of grid and facilities requirements, revenue adjustment, infrastructure modification requirements, and partnerships.
Moving Toward Resiliency
The benefits of ERCIP projects are significant and lasting. For operational and installation commanders, it is crucial to maintain the ability to disconnect from the grid and continue to execute critical mission requirements in the event of loss of power due to natural or man-made causes. Energy conservation measures, microgrids, and distributed energy sources like solar PV and battery storage systems help lower utility bills through reduced usage, peak shaving, and other best practices. The decreased reliance on carbon-based energy also supports the goals of the President’s executive orders. The DoD is the largest user of energy in the world, and the positive impact on mitigating climate impacts is immense.