U.S. Air Force to quadruple solar use
Feb 16, 2011 - UPI - energycentral.com
"
Energy is a thread that runs through every single mission we have," Air
Force Deputy Assistant Energy Secretary Kevin Geiss said. "We're also
continually trying to change that culture and work on the mindset of our
airmen to get them to consider (how they use energy) in everything they
do."
The U.S. Defense Department, which spent more than $24 billion on fuel and
power last year, has ordered all military branches to increase their renewable-energy
use to 25 percent of total consumption by 2025, Geiss told solar-energy executives
at a university conference in a burgeoning solar-industry area north of New
York City.
"Achieving a firm, energy-secure posture is key to all the missions we
have," the Middletown, N.Y., Times-Herald Record quoted Geiss as saying.
U.S. President Barack Obama proposed in his State of the Union address Tuesday
for 80 percent of America's electricity to come from renewable, or "clean," energy
sources by 2035, and called for $8 billion a year in research and development
on clean-energy technologies, a one-third increase.
Clean-energy technologies are "an investment that will strengthen our
security, protect our planet and create countless new jobs for our people," he
said.
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