In the Army’s ongoing search for energy security, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) issued a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) for renewable energy last week.
“This could potentially be the largest contract ever awarded by Huntsville Center,” said Col. Nello Tortora, commander of the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville. “Under this contract, we will be buying energy produced, rather than the equipment to produce it. It will complement the suite of contracts we currently have that allow us to award energy projects and will go a long way toward helping the Army meet its required energy reduction and energy security goals.”
The draft RFP will be available for industry comment and no bids will be accepted yet. The actual RFP later will be issued later.
The USACE has worked on some very big projects over the years, some successful–others, not so much. You can see the Corps’ view of their history here.
I think this is a tacit acknowledgement that our gas-guzzling mechanized forces are extremely vulnerable to logistical disruptions; witness Afghanistan.
The Pentagon views climate change as a security threat and absolutely, supplies chains can easily be disrupted in dicey areas.