U.S. Department of Defense

According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Office of Installations and the Environment, the agency’s enormous landholdings in the Mojave and Colorado deserts of California, across four military installations, hold enough suitable space to generate 7,000 megawatts (MW) of solar energy.

Even as Congressional leaders continue to drag their feet on clean energy and many states keep renewables-related legislation on the back burner because of the still-sluggish economy, the U.S. military continues to invest money and research into green energy.

The U.S. Department of Defense spends $15 billion a year on energy, mostly on oil-based fuels. Transporting that fuel to the battlefield puts lives at risk, so the military is finding ways to save energy and use alternatives to oil. In “Military Goes Green Part I,” correspondent Lee Patrick Sullivan checks out a fighter jet that runs on biofuels and a warship with a hybrid engine.

Here Are this Week's 10 Hottest Renewable Energy Stories You May Have Missed:

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has recently released an Operational Energy Strategy that is highly favorable to the concept of renewable energy technologies.

A new report from the non-profit institution RAND suggests the U.S. Department of Defense's emphasis on alternative fuels for the military is too costly, and not as beneficial as originally anticipated. 

As more studies increasingly show that energy independence and climate change will play a major role in the future of national security, some believe the U.S.

Well, well, well.  Once again, here we stand on the eve of another journey.

But first a little prelude, if I may.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) new, 222,000-square-foot Research Support Facility (RSF) on the NREL campus is a zero-energy facility.