US Army To Build Solar Thermal Power Plant  

Wired reports the US Army is planning to build a 500 MW solar thermal power plant (calling it the world's largest, though it certainly isn't the largest one being planned) - Army Looks to Build World's Strongest Solar Array.

The Army says it wants to build what could be the world's most powerful solar power plant, as part of a far-reaching effort to cut back on the service's dependence on fossil fuels. The question is whether the Army will actually make good on its green promises.

Currently, the most powerful photovoltaic array in the country is at Nellis Air Force Base, outside of Las Vegas. It generates about 15 megawatts of power. Other plants are in the works in New Mexico, Arizona and California that could produce up to 300 megawatts.

Yesterday, the Army declared that it would "partner with the private sector to construct a 500-megawatt solar thermal plant at Fort Irwin, California, in the Mojave Desert, that will provide renewable power on the grid and provide the sprawling Army post with added energy security against disruption of power supply."

The U.S. military has been making all sorts of bold declarations in recent years about the need to wean itself from fossil fuels. It is "imperative" that the Department of Defense "apply new energy technologies that address alternative supply sources and efficient consumption across all aspects of military operations," thundered one Pentagon report.

"Effectively immediately," shouted another, Pentagon planners must factor in "energy efficiency" when designing "all tactical systems." That's because the Defense Department is not only one of the world's largest consumers of oil and gas — slurping up "110 million barrels of premium fuel and 3.8 billion kilowatts of electricity at a cost of $13.6 billion," as Defense News notes. But the stuff is ridiculously expensive: War-zone fuel prices can reach up to $400 per gallon.

The military's record of answering those clarion calls has been uneven, however. For every promising, isolated effort — wind-powered bases, garbage-munching generators in Baghdad — there have been disappointments, too. Long-promised hybrid Humvees never materialized. "Urgent" pleas from battlefield commanders for green power stations were negged by the Pentagon brass.

In a statement, the Army claims this effort will be different, because it's putting in place a "Senior Energy Council to serve as a board of directors focusing on Army energy policy, programs and funding to leverage the Army's nationwide energy-conservation efforts."