isafmediaA Marine pours fuel into cans delivered by a convoy in Afghanistan.
We’ve written at length about the American military’s push to go green, and how that’s helping to turn the world’s most powerful defense force into a leaner and meaner fighting machine.
But here’s another reason for the guys and gals in green to ditch dirty fossil fuels: Shifting to solar or wind power can spare soldiers from the dangerous task of hauling massive amounts of incendiary fluids across battlefields — becoming prime targets for anti-American forces.
In Afghanistan, one life is lost for every 24 deliveries that are attempted, according to a new article in Bloomberg:
With renewable energy, “there is no supply chain vulnerability, there are no commodity costs and there’s a lower chance of disruption,” Richard Kidd, the deputy assistant secretary of the Army in charge of energy security, said in an interview. “A fuel tanker can be shot at and blown up. The sun’s rays will still be there.”
The new green revolution, which is in progress at military bases stateside as well, isn’t just good for our fighting forces — it’s good for business, too. Well, some business.
The transition is a sales opportunity for companies including Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), which is installing small-scale power systems at U.S. bases, along with Alta Devices Inc. and Sundial Capital Partners, which make sun-powered systems. The moves threaten U.S. utilities, which stand to lose revenue when the Army shifts to photovoltaic panels from traditional power sources.
It also threatens oil companies’ bottom line, of course. Maybe that’s why, despite the overwhelming reasons for the military to go green, meddling members of Congress have tried — unsuccessfully, fortunately — to force America’s commanders to continue to rely on antiquated fossil fuels. After all, if it wasn’t for fossil fuels, what would we have to fight about? And who would fund those expensive congressional campaigns?
