Ending military's oil addiction could 'save lives'

Reducing the military’s dependence on fossil fuels would not only make it easier to provide supplies in a war zone but could save the lives of many soldiers, according to a renewable energy company executive whose firm focuses on security and international aid markets.

Speaking at the European Defence Agency’s Conference on Sustainable Energy for EU Crisis Management in Budapest, Dave Muchow, president and CEO of SkyBuilt, said the future of military equipment must be aimed toward using renewable sources such as solar panels and wind turbines.

SkyBuilt produces self-contained, rapidly deployable, renewable and hybrid energy power systems for military, telco, homeland security, commercial and international aid customers.

Militaries across the globe currently rely heavily on fossil fuels — mainly petrol, diesel and other hydrocarbons — to power vehicles, planes and generators, among other applications. When coordinating war zone logistics, that means a consistent supply route must be implemented in order to maintain the power supply. Up to one-half of all military personnel deployed in some situations are needed to do this.

This can prove more than a major logistical challenge, though. For every 24 fuel convoys in Iraq, one soldier is injured or killed by enemy action. Just a one per cent reduction in fuel use could save over 6,000 convoys and, more importantly, many lives, according to Muchow.

Muchow called for a fast-track program for the military to set goals for a percentage use of renewable energy, as well as to prioritise, focus and immediately deploy commercially available products to jump-start the deployment of renewables.

Current technologies available to the military include hybrid systems of solar, wind, battery backup and generator options. Considering the US military budget is over $680 billion annually, there could be huge potential savings by directing investments to renewable energy systems.

The military in most countries has always had a heavy reliance on R&D for the latest technologies. Due to the rapidly expanding renewable energy market, though, development here could be more cost-effective through the market. Similar circumstances were seen with the technological advancement of mobile phones: traditionally, the military had the highest-tech devices; rapid technology developments in the mobile phone market, however, meant the level of research in the military eventually could not keep up.

Early in 2010, the US military released a report stating that “surplus oil production capacity could entirely disappear” by 2012. This outcome would have a military impact not only on operations themselves, but on the economies of the US, France, the UK and other countries that are leading exporters of military equipment. In times of austerity, especially, not acting to reduce our dependence on oil is effectively throwing money away. In the case of those at the front lines, it’s risking not just efficiency but lives as well.