By General Doug Fraser

Although natural disasters can occur at any time, June through December is a particularly susceptible season in the Caribbean basin because of the annual Atlantic hurricane season. The 2011 Hurricane Season has been active and deadly, taking over 100 lives and causing an estimated $10 billion in damage. Fortunately, nations within U.S. Southern Command’s Area of Responsibility (AOR) have not been severely affected, and no international disaster relief operations within the AOR have been required. Nevertheless, U.S. Southern Command remains ready to contribute to a U.S. response if one is requested, and is developing innovative capabilities to allow for a faster and more effective response.

One example of this innovative approach is the Pre-positioned Expeditionary Assistance Kit (PEAK). Developed in partnership with the National Defense University, PEAKs are designed to be forward staged and deployable to a disaster response area within 12 hours, providing sustainable and essential services to disaster response teams. The kit’s services include clean water, power, information sharing, and local and global communications. As we have learned from previous disasters, one of the most difficult aspects of providing an effective response is gaining an accurate assessment of the situation on the ground after communications and transportation infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed. PEAKs enable decision makers to gain a better understanding of how best to deploy relief efforts.

The first PEAK Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) was held earlier this year at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras, less than one year after program inception. Conducted with Joint Task Force-Bravo (JTF-B), a standing U.S. Southern Command JTF located in Honduras, alongside representatives from Honduras’s military and civil relief agencies, the JCTD assessed PEAK’s capabilities. Honduran involvement in PEAK’s operational demonstration validated its potential utility for both U.S. forces and Honduras’s disaster relief agencies, and is an example of how U.S. Southern Command helps strengthen partner nation capacity.

Another way U.S. Southern Command ensures it is ready to participate in disaster response operations is by hosting and participating in the Joint Humanitarian Operations Course (JHOC), conducted by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA). As the lead federal agency for international disaster response, USAID trains U.S. Southern Command staff members, including partner nation liaison officers, on how the U.S. military can support USAID and other humanitarian organizations during times of crisis. This recurring training guarantees that when disaster strikes, U.S. Southern Command is ready to assist.

By Fairfax News

Propane and methanol fuel cells, solar-panel collectors and wind turbines are just a few examples of alternative-energy sources that have been on display this week in the Pentagon courtyard.

The demos and exhibits were all part of the Energy and Sustainability Technology Fair to show the ways in which the Department of Defense and can reduce consumption of non-renewable energy sources while increasing efficiency and protecting the environment.

Secretary of the Army John McHugh said the Army was really exercising all the tools in its box without limiting or compromising its capabilities.

“Most critically, we want less exposure for our Soldiers in theater, particularly when every convoy in theater puts Soldiers at risk,” he said. “Seventy percent of our convoy load in theater is fuel and water, so anything we can do to reduce that exposure is a good thing and at the same time we think these alternatives will be huge money savers.

“Anything we can do to decrease our expenditures, that’s good for the Army, good for the taxpayers, and equally important in that we want to be responsible stewards of the environment,” McHugh said.

The Army’s Soldier-worn integrated power equipment system, or SWIPE, was on display from Program Executive Office Soldier — Power. SWIPE has a cable system that provides power that is networked throughout a Soldier’s entire body armor through a conformal battery weighing only 2.2 pounds.

The conformal battery continuously charges all the Soldier’s peripherals for 24 hours then it can be recharged by a foldable solar panel carried in the Soldier’s assault pack. While it’s being recharged, the individual peripheral batteries continue to provide power.

“The battery has cabling that distribute power across the entire ensemble,” said Maj. Mark Owens, PEO-Soldier assistant program manager for power. “It constantly trickle-charges the batteries so the end consequence is Soldiers don’t need to carry extra batteries for all their peripherals.”

Owens said the weight bogey is one of the biggest issues and challenges designers face when trying to increase a Soldier’s capability without continuing to add more and more weight.

“Anytime we talk about implementing new technology, the first thing we look at is, yes, it has to increase the Soldier’s capability, but we have to take something off of him — preferably taking more off than what we’re adding,” he said. The conformal battery has been used by the 2nd Stryker Cavalry regiment and the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division Stryker Brigade Combat Team during their deployments.

A solar-powered portable water purification systems for Soldiers in remote areas will be headed to Fort Roberts, Calif., for testing next month. The Solar Hybrid Expeditionary Purification System, known as the SHEPS footlocker system, will undergo capabilities-based experimentation or CBE by the Special Operations Command, according to Worldwater and Solar Technologies vice president for project management, Melissa G. Burns.
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SHEPS consists of two 80-pound footlocker-sized boxes, one of which contains batteries that power a water-purification system which is in the other box.

Connected to the battery bank are four 135-watt folding solar panels that can either drive the water system directly or continuously charge the batteries.

The water-purification system can produce 100 gallons per day straight from solar and about 250 gallons per day when powered by the battery system. Burns said SHEPS can also use power from external sources to produce upwards of 450 gallons freshwater per day from tainted freshwater, brackish water or seawater sources.

“Our systems can really work anywhere a traditional infrastructure is compromised, non-existent or unreliable, so that would certainly span expeditionary forces as well as Department of Defense forward operating bases,” she said, adding that the SHEPS can be used for disaster relief as well as in international development.

http://fairfaxnews.com/2011/10/pentagon-fair-spotlights-energy-efficiency/

PEAK is a solar-water-communications tool contained in an ISU-60 container for ready deployment in support of security, disaster response, humanitarian missions and more.

One system is at a 70 acre farm near Wadi El Natrun, where a 135 KW array will drive a 150 horsepower pump to draw water from a depth of 200 meters.

The other farm, near Farafra Oasis, is 200 acres, where a 200 KW array will drive a 250 hP pump. These farms are currently powered by diesel generators.

“Using our proprietary inter-connection technology, we can run such large horsepower pumps that are off-grid, as well as grid-connected, very efficiently from clean solar energy. These pilot projects are a game changing proposition to agro-businesses everywhere.”
Dr. Davinder Sethi, Chief Operating Officer of WorldWater

“We expect next year to be doing between 20,000 acres to 40,000 acres in the desert. We’ll be first converting diesel powered irrigation to solar, and then taking desert land and converting it into arable land. Bear in mind that the Government of Egypt’s plan is to increase the desert farm lands by about 2.5 million acres over the coming five years.”
Ahmed Zahran, Business Development, Tri-Ocean Carbon

RAMP-UP South works with six provincial capitals in southern Afghanistan to improve municipal government capacity, service delivery, economic development, and revenue generation through public-private partnerships that support local financial independence and security. The goal is to provide Afghan citizens with an experience of improved government service, understanding the responsibilities of municipal leaders, and assuming an active role in municipal decision-making.

The MMPs directly support this project by giving Afghan municipalities the capability to provide their citizens with a reliable source of clean water and renewable power, which will also result in increased health and economic benefits as well.

By Dave Ahearn

Any combatant who is sickened by polluted water can’t fight, meaning that invisible organisms or materials in water can take a warrior down as surely as enemy fire.

Fortunately, multiple companies have developed a wide array of systems that can ensure water-borne illness doesn’t strike American forces.

These systems are divided into two major groups: storage containers that hold already purified water, and systems that can take highly polluted water and turn it into safe, clean H2O.

Water Storage
BAE Systems provides hydration that can slake the thirst of parched troops, with dual water storage systems containing purified water mounted on either side of a long range assault pack. With 100 ounces in each bladder, plus the option of adding yet another container, that adds up to a super-sized 300 ounces of water, enough for a lengthy mission, according to Sean Martin, director of sales with BAE Systems. A drink tube protrudes from each container, with the mouth piece conveniently located on each shoulder of the combatant.

Martin said troops can use drying and cleaning to ensure that no mold or other organisms grow inside the water storage system, which is easy to inspect to see if the water is clear.

Other hydration systems are able to take polluted water and transform it into pure aqua, safe to drink.

CamelBak offers several hydration systems. They are built into soft goods products such as backpacks of varying sizes depending on the need of the warfighter. Some carry only water and attach directly to MOLLE [Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment] of an IOTV [Improved Outer Tactical Vest] via DAAS [Direct Armor Attachment System], and others are built into three- to five-day mission capacities.

The amount of water and cargo carried is dependent on the situation, but most common hydration systems carry three liters or 100 ounces of water.

For longer missions, some CamelBak packs contain an overflow pocket which is expandable to fit a jacket, helmet, radio or other items, but most are designed for specific cargo and hydration capacities.

For quick detachment, packs are equipped with side-release buckles on the shoulder harnesses so the bag can be instantly dropped from the warfighter if need be. The DAAS is designed to work the rapid release system of the vest, which means when the warfighter pulls the rapid release handle, the hydration falls with the vest and does not inhibit the user. It is mounted directly to the back of the vest with no need for shoulder straps.

Any hydration system can have problems with mold or other microorganism growth in the moist environment of a water carrier. But proper maintenance can eliminate and prevent the problem.

According to CamelBak, the best way to maintain a hydration system is to clean it after every use, especially keeping it dry. Running purely water (no sugar-based drinks) is the best way to prevent build up. Mold will find a way to grow wherever there is moisture, and more so with sugar-based drinks, so keeping the reservoir clean and dry is a must for preventing build up.

Many military units use CamelBak products.
Blackhawk offerings include the Barrage Hydration Pack that features a 2.6 liter capacity. The packs are available in desert tan, green or mountain camo.

Water Purfication
At one time, military water purification systems used basic technologies to purify water.

For example, the Army fielded an ERDLator, which essentially was a downsized municipal water treatment plant mounted on a 2.5-ton truck.

It could take highly polluted water—such as from the Rio Grande near Brownsville, Texas, water that was dark with filth—and turn it into sparkling, clear and, most importantly, safe water.

The ERDLator used a filter to block large objects and sediment, and then settling tank time to remove smaller sediment from the water. After that, the water was piped into a tank. In the middle of the tank was a tube-shaped core made of wire screening that was mounted vertically through the center of the tank. Personnel would cover the screen with a powder to filter the water further, before the water exited through an opening at the bottom of the screen tube. Finally, the water would be chlorinated and run through activated charcoal to remove any bad taste.

More recently, there have been improvements in the water purification process, with reverse osmosis being far more efficient in purification and desalinization than distillation. Reverse osmosis involves water essentially seeping through a membrane. Also, ultraviolet light may be used to kill disease organisms in water.

Some excellent systems are available. For example, L-3 offers assets such as the Water Purification System Series 5.0. The system is man-portable, weighing approximately 70 pounds in a rugged Pelican Case about the size of a small suitcase. But it provides outsized capabilities, cranking out in excess of 1,000 gallons of purified water each day.

The Series 5.0 is the only portable mechanical filtration system to pass the stringent Emergency Military Operations Microbiological Water Purifiers NSF Protocol P248 testing.

Passing the P248 testing verifies that L-3’s Series 5.0 does indeed remove 99.99 percent of viruses and bacteria such as, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, E. coli and Vibrio (Cholera), just to name a few.

“The L-3 system gives water-borne impurities including heavy metal, viruses and chemical contaminants, a one-two-three punch that knocks them out,” Sandra Atkinson, L-3 marketing, explained. “We have three treatment systems, all in one case,” she said.

The Series 5.0 system uses ultraviolet light to kill microorganisms in the water. Carbon and sediment filters remove particles, color, taste and odor. The unit also uses reverse osmosis (RO) membranes for an add layer of purification. The ROs are automatically flushed every 30 minutes to remove impurities from the membranes for continuous reliable operation.

There is also a strainer at the bottom of the water intake float, to prevent large debris from entering the system. Actually, L-3 offers an entire family of water purification systems, Atkinson explained, and all of them are manportable:

there is a 700 gallon-per-day (gpd) unit that weighs just 60 pounds, a 350 gpd unit weighing but 40 pounds, and a 180 to 200 gpd unit tipping the scales at a minuscule 20 pounds (weight of a unit varies depending on whether it contains water, and the amount of water).

Each of the L-3 Water Purification Systems can be set up and producing purified water in four minutes or less, and the unit restows in 45 seconds. The systems require an external water source, such as a stream or lake, and an external power source, Atkinson continued, with the systems able to run off any power source such as generator power, AC, DC, 12 or 24 volt vehicle power or standard 110 or 220 volt power. Solar power is also a viable option, requiring from 250 to 400 Watts.

Military organizations are currently evaluating L-3’s water purifications systems, Atkinson said.

Another provider of water purification systems is Aspen Water Inc. Ed Atchley, vice president of marketing with Richardson, Texas-based Aspen Water Inc., explained how the firm’s systems are used widely throughout the military, in places such as Afghanistan, Iraq and the Pacific, and in commands such as SOUTHCOM, AFRICOM and CENTCOM.

Aspen Water systems also are used by the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, he noted. “I’ve been designing and building water purification systems for 20 years,” Atchley said. One of the attractions of the Aspen Water systems is that they can be set up, produce water and be torn down in 15 minutes, Atchley said. There are no bladders or settling tanks on the Aspen Water unit, he said.

Among units the firm offers is the 2000DM, a lightweight desalination system capable of being transported by a HMMWV and powered by its 24-volt electrical system. The 5500M, an updated version of the most popular Aspen Water model, produces 5,000 to 5,500 gallons of purified water per day from any non-saline water source. Aspen Water systems can use any AC or DC power source, he continued. The company also offers a portable solar power station.

Then there is the 1800BC/BP, a multi-tasked backpack and briefcase unit, using unrestricted rechargeable batteries. These units also can be used to provide clean water to victims of natural disasters, so that water-borne disease epidemics don’t erupt, he added, noting that FEMA uses them.

WorldWater & Solar Technologies Inc. of Princeton, N.J., makes a water purification system that operates on solar power fed into battery assets. Davinder Sethi, Ph.D., chief operating officer with WorldWater, and Melissa G. Burns, vice president of marketing, discussed their water purification technologies in an interview. The Mobile Max Pure and its solar panels can be carried on a trailer or placed directly on the ground. It forms a seven-foot cube when stowed (transportable in an international shipping container, in an aircraft, or sling-loaded), with a quick 20- to 30-minute set-up time by two personnel, including deploying the 3-kW solar array that feeds power to batteries providing 24-hour operation.

Once operational, if the unit is operating with a fresh-water point source, it can produce a huge 30,000 gallons per day of safe potable water for troops, using multi-media filtration and ultra violet light.

If water is brackish, or if the system is processing sea water, the solar-powered unit still produces 3,000 or 4,000 gallons daily, using multimedia pre-filters and several reverse osmosis membranes.

The unit can produce chemical-free water, but if desired, other items such as chlorination or a separate activated charcoal treatment can be added, Sethi and Burns explained.

As a bonus, the solar power system produces more electricity than is required to charge batteries and run the water purification unit, so the excess power, AC or DC as needed, can be used to juice up rechargeable batteries that troops carry for electronic systems, meaning they don’t have to carry heavy non-rechargeable batteries in their already weighty packs.

Burns and Sethi also offered a broader perspective on the issue of water purification, and just how critical it is for military units in war.

This can be literally a matter of life and death, they noted. “Any [local] environmental water source would require purification before consumption” by warriors, Burns said, except for very deep wells.

If locally available polluted water sources aren’t treated in mobile plants such as those provided by WorldWater, then drinking water may have to be trucked in by convoys to supply combatants. But the more convoys travel risky roads in theater, the more chances that personnel in the convoys will be struck by bullets from snipers, or that vehicles will be demolished by IEDs. “Many of the convoys at risk of being attacked transport fuel and water,” Burns observed.

Water obtained locally by purification units lessens the number of water-supply convoys. Further, solar-powered purification units don’t require fuel, lessening the number of fuel convoys. And the electricity that the solar-powered unit provides to personnel to charge their batteries further lessens the need for fuel for on-site generators.

Mobile water purification systems also can be used to generate good will for the military, such as providing safe and healthy water to civilians who otherwise would become ill drinking polluted water. Or the purification systems can be used in disaster relief efforts, where the military aids victims of storms, tsunamis, earthquakes and the like, Burns observed.

What’s next for WorldWater? The company is working on a smaller solar-powered Mobile Max Pure, so compact it may be half to onequarter the size of the existing system. It may take six to nine months to develop.

And the company is working on a project for the Office of the Secretary of Defense Rapid Fielding Directorate, developing a system that would provide warriors with solar-powered water purification, satellite communications and electrical power. The timeline for completion might be around the end of the year.

Hydro-Photon Inc., of Blue Hill, Maine, offers the handheld SteriPEN water purification system, in the Protector or Defender versions. Pam Aubuchon-Fields, marketing manager with the company, provided details on the systems. Using ultraviolet light, the units in seconds kill common waterborne disease microorganisms in clear water, such as viruses, bacteria and protozoa. Those pollutants include giardia and cryptosporidium.

The olive drab Protector is intended for use by military personnel. Defender destroys over 99.9 percent of bacteria, viruses and protozoa, including cryptosporidium and giardia, and disinfects a liter of water in 90 seconds. The AA-battery-powered Defender involves no pumping, warming up, filters, testing or waiting. The unit weighs 5.7 ounces.

Maritime
The Navy is moving forward in hydration, too. Water desalinization systems long ago banished the complaint penned by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, about “water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.”

Now, the oceans can be converted into giant reservoirs of potable water, with a little help from technology. And that technology soon will be even better. The Office of Naval Research issued a request for information, seeking ideas from industry as to how ocean water desalinization systems can be improved: Specifically, industry must propose how the
amount of clean, potable water for sailors can be increased by 65 percent, while reducing the amount of energy needed to produce a gallon of drinkable water by 65 percent.

ONR anticipates that more than one contract award will result from the solicitation of ideas.

The lack of clean, potable water is a growing problem worldwide. Only 3% of the water available on Earth is freshwater. Advancements in reverse osmosis (RO) mitigate problems caused by increasing demand for clean water and decreasing supply. RO can increase the freshwater supply by desalinating saltwater.

While large RO plants are being built worldwide, these plants and their distribution networks are costly, and they are impractical in areas without reliable grids and cheap energy. WorldWater & Solar Technologies, Inc.’s (WWST) approach is different. Using solar power and providing
distributed, village-­sized infrastructure solutions, WWST has developed the Mobile MaxPure®.

Mobile MaxPure® (MMP) solves power availability problems by using solar energy and storing electricity in an embedded battery bank. Each MMP can desalinate up to 15.1 m³ (4,000 gallons) of water each day, rain or shine (freshwater purification up to 113.5 m³/day [30,000 gallons] is also available). As a village-­sized solution, the MMP meets the needs of remote villages more effectively and economically than do most large-­scale RO plants.

MMP is immediate, distributed infrastructure that solves the problem of power availability and enables a range of compelling applications to be operated. In addition to water purification and RO, the MMP can power satellite communications, lights, tools, and appliances.

WWST has shipped and deployed systems around the world, including areas in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Haiti. Clean water – and power – is now available for human consumption (increasing health and productivity), land reclamation, agriculture, and industry thanks to the self-contained, self-­powered RO systems and water purification provided by the MMPs.

Economically efficent, even for poverty-­stricken areas, the MMP creates potable water for fractions of a penny per gallon, making it the world’s lowest cost water delivery system. Eliminating the need for external fuel or power, the MMP is a viable and sustainable solution worldwide.

By Paul McLeary

In 2006, a Joint Urgent Operational Needs Statement written by the top ground commander in western Iraq wound its way through the bureaucracy of Multinational Force-Iraq to Central Command and finally to the Pentagon’s Rapid Equipping Force (REF) at Fort Belvoir, Va. There it was handed off to then-Col. Dan Nolan, who says that when it reached his desk, the attitude of those who reviewed the request was “this is kind of weird,” since no one had “ever seen anything like it.”

The request wasn’t for anything that would allow troops to engage the enemy, but for gear that would help Americans stay away from roadside bombs. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer, commander of Multinational Force-West, had had enough of his troops being blown up while driving fuel-laden supply convoys to small outposts. He requested a “renewable and self-sustainable energy solution . . . to augment our use of fossil fuels with renewable energy, such as photovoltaic solar panels and wind turbines.” He wanted troops to produce their own energy and be freed from dangers of constant resupply.

While Zilmer’s request for 183 commercial renewable-energy systems would be denied, his request woke the Pentagon up to the energy needs that small, dispersed units have and the huge material and human costs of keeping them supplied.

That initial request was modest, but the Army and Marine Corps are now doubling down on their commitment to renewable energy on the battlefield. Both services are shipping everything from hybrid generators for base camps to small collapsible solar panels that recharge handheld electronics to Afghanistan this year. There has been little hoopla over the deployment of some of these renewable technologies, but if they prove out, 2011 may be a major turning point in how the U.S. military meets battlefield energy needs in the future.

After taking the lead on Zilmer’s request, Nolan—who now runs a consulting business—helped form the Power Surety Task Force, a group within REF that would briefly take the lead in renewable-energy research for the Army. Among other projects, the task force developed the Transportable Hybrid Electric Power Station, which never proved out but spurred the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to allocate $30 million to the Army to develop the Hybrid Intelligent Power (HI-Power) generator, a microgrid system under development by Lockheed Martin.

A microgrid consists of a series of generators ganged to operate as one “smart” unit, producing as much energy as needed at any given time. This reduces fuel consumption—instead of small buildings running their own generators 24 hr. a day whether needed or not, they all work together, turning on and off as necessary to meet demand.

The Army has been testing large-scale microgrid technology at Fort Irwin, Calif., for some time, and will ship a smaller system to Afghanistan this summer. Col. Paul Roege of the U.S. Army Capabilities Integration Center tells DTI that a megawatt’s worth of generators are going to a large forward operating base (FOB)—a source says it’s Bagram Air Base—to see how it fares in an expeditionary environment. The Army expects to save “10-20% of fuel” currently burned by inefficient generators. When dealing with the numbers the U.S. military deals with in Afghanistan—consuming 50 million gal. of fuel per month—a 10-20% reduction in fuel is significant.

There are 22 minigrids in Afghanistan, which differ from the larger microgrids in that instead of tying together multiple 60-kw generators over a large area, each consists of one 500-kw generator, which supplies power to several structures. According to Richard Kidd, deputy assistant secretary of the Army, energy and sustainability, in places where minigrids are deployed, fuel consumption has gone down 50%, “saving thousands of gallons a week.”

But it’s not just energy grids for large FOBs that the Army is deploying to Afghanistan—it’s also providing tactical solutions. Four Brigade Combat Teams (BCT)—starting with the 173rd Airborne BCT in July 2010—have been supplied with the Rucksack Enhanced Portable Power System, a small, flexible, 62-watt solar panel that has adaptors to charge military standard batteries. While there are only 100 in theater, Kidd says 600 are “in the pipeline” for deployment. With some Army batteries weighing more than 2 lb. each, or soldiers having to carry hundreds of commercial batteries on long missions, being able to recharge a single battery with a small solar panel would take a huge load off infantrymen who already hump packs weighing in excess of 100 lb. on long missions. It also allows a small unit to reduce the time it runs gas-guzzling generators to recharge a growing array of electrically powered gear.

The 1st Btn., 16th Infantry Regt., 1st Infantry Div. deployed to Afghanistan this year with alternate and renewable power sources focused principally on their battery load. Kristopher Gardner, deputy director of technology in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisitions, Logistics and Technology, tells DTI that in training, the 1/16 evaluated everything from 300-watt fuel cells to rechargeable batteries, power managers and individual fuel cells, and their deployment marks the first time soldier-portable fuel cells are in theater.

When looking at how much oil the Defense Department uses, any saving, even at the end of a long, expensive supply chain, is important. The Defense Department spent $15 billion for oil in 2010, with 75% going to operations. The largest consumers of fuel on the battlefield are electrical generators, and due to the recent surge in American forces, Kidd says that from 2009-10, fuel costs in Afghanistan increased 60%—largely due to the use of more inefficient generator power. Given numbers like that, and with a serious budget crunch coming, it’s easy to see why the services are scrambling to find savings in renewable energy.

Sharon Burke, assistant defense secretary for operational energy plans and programs, a new office at the Pentagon, recently said on Capitol Hill that despite those numbers, “we don’t have good data on power use at the source.” In other words, the military isn’t good at keeping tabs on where and how it uses energy.

The problem in deployed environments is that the military doesn’t have a process to collect fuel data in theater. It is trying to rectify that by sending a bar code technology called Tactical Fuel Manager Defense to Afghanistan to collect such data. Kidd says that the system is about 50% fielded, with full deployment to be completed by year’s end. He says the system provides an “automated, tactical, operational-level picture of what the fuel is being used for” across the battlefield.

The fuel manager system is an example of how the military is only now—after a decade of conflict—paying close attention to how much fuel it burns in theater, and to the fact that it doesn’t have a handle on how that fuel is being used. Roege adds that the Army is starting to study how its contractors keep fuel logs so “we can tap into that kind of capability, collect the data and figure out how you report it, who needs to see it, what analysis needs to be done, how you tie that into your decision processes.”

Of 50 million gal. of fuel per month that U.S. forces consume in Afghanistan, 200,000 gal. a day are used by the Marines. For a force that wants to be more expeditionary and act like less of a second land army, this tether is unacceptable.

Enter India Co. of the 3/5 Marines. Having returned this spring from a seven-month tour in Helmand Province, the unit managed to demonstrate the feasibility of a suite of renewable-energy systems that in some cases reduced the fuel use of generators to 2 gal. a day from 20.

Called exFOB, the system uses a variety of devices to convert solar energy to power to charge everything from battery packs to cooling, heating and electrical systems in living quarters and operation centers. The system proved so successful that two small patrol bases in Afghanistan are operating entirely on renewable energy, with a 90% reduction in fuel at a third base. One platoon was even able to conduct a three-week foot patrol without battery resupply, reducing the load on those Marines by 700 lb.

But this was only the beginning. Spurred on by high fuel costs and a desire to become reacquainted with its expeditionary roots, the Marines’ Expeditionary Energy Office, led by Col. Bob Charette, is taking the success of exFOB and running with it.

Charette tells DTI that India Co. was a small but significant part of the Marines’ plans. Due to their success, “we wrote requirements” and have “LED lights, shelter liners and Spaces (Solar Portable Alternative Communication Energy System—a portable solar panel that recharges batteries) on their way to Afghanistan. We’re also looking at accelerating the Ground Renewable Expeditionary Energy Network (a larger solar display that can power a platoon’s command center) as a result of what we learned with India Co.”

The Marines have more than 400 Spaces systems in Afghanistan, and are acquiring more as quickly as possible. The service is also sending hybrid 10-30-kw generators to Afghanistan this summer to act as a microgrid for battalion-level operations. The hybrid generators grew out of testing the Corps did last summer at Twentynine Palms, Calif., to make a battalion’s “command and control system as renewable and energy-efficient as possible,” Charette says.

During the tests, “a few of the vendors were able to save 70-90% of fuel against program-of-record generators,” Charette adds, although he doesn’t know if they’re going to get the same results in the field. Still, he is confident that “we’ll have a battalion-level capability in less than a year,” while stressing that for the Corps, this isn’t a one-time thing. This is how Marines are going to deploy, Charette says.

“As we learn, we’re writing requirement documents, making acquisition decisions and rearranging our funding decisions based on all of this,” Charette says. Systems like Spaces “give us a lot of flexibility at the tactical edge,” and while “we’re building the airplane in flight a little bit,” he notes that “we moved around a lot of money to get all these battalions the same gear that 3/5 has.” The cost, moreover, is relatively small given the potential for fuel savings. The cost of testing and supplying this gear to theater has been about $3.5 million, while the hardware sent to Afghanistan with India Co. costs less than $500,000.

At small outposts, Marines often use idling vehicles as power-generation sources, using up as much fuel as a generator. To reduce that, the Corps recently issued a request for information for “any other automotive technologies such as cold and hot weather idle-free solutions for vehicle climate control, reduction of parasitic loads, or any other automotive solutions designed to improve vehicle fuel efficiency.” Charette says that in August the Corps is conducting exFOB 2011 tests to look at concentrated solar energy and other solutions for exportable power of vehicles at idle.

Budgetary pressure, lessons learned from the field and simple logistical common sense have led the ground services to embrace renewable energy where and when they can. But “the big gaping hole is that the Defense Department has no energy strategy,” warns Christine Parthemore, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security. “There’s no overarching, long-term strategy” for energy efficiency at the Pentagon. Contributing to the problem with fuel use in Iraq and Afghanistan, she points out, are the expensive, all-inclusive, long-term fuel and supply contracts in the theaters that often impose “distinct disincentives for conserving fuel or using it

efficiently.” The Army particularly “felt like their hands were tied” when it came to trying new things when so much was invested in logistics contracts.

The budget environment, however, “is adding a whole new interest in solving the energy question in a more serious way and much more broadly within the department than 3-5 years ago,” she adds. Kidd says that if the microgrid experiment is successful, “we envision a day when microgrids are standard practice in what we do.” These technologies, along with the Marine Corps’ plan to rely on liquid fuel for vehicles only by 2025, point the way to further innovation.

But to tie these programs together, as well as those in the Navy and Air Force, as Burke and her office are tasked to do, the Defense Department still needs an overall strategy for energy use—one that is overdue.

Chris Meehan

WorldWater & Solar Technologies, Inc. will soon make desert lands in Egypt arable, thanks to the company’s ability to use photovoltaics to pump water at up to a thousand gallons a minute with a 250-horsepower pump. The company has signed agreements for the projects and is now designing them.

The company partnered with Tri-Ocean Energy, an energy company in the Middle East and North Africa, to develop two pilot projects in Egypt this year that will take over existing pumping operations for two farming operations.

“One is in near Alexandria, on 150 to 200 acres of land that is currently being watered by a diesel-operated pump. Another is similar but at a different location, a 75-acre plot of land,” said Davinder Sethi, Ph.D., chief financial officer and chief operating officer of WorldWater & Solar. The larger system will be powered by a 220-kilowatt photovoltaic array, while the smaller will be powered by a 135-kW array.

Next year, the company will undertake much more ambitious projects.

“We expect next year to be doing between 20,000 acres to 40,000 acres in the desert. We’ll be taking desert and converting it into arable land,” Sethi said. “[The system] allows us to draw water from 200 meters to 500 meters below the desert. That is the aquifer we’re tapping into.”

The company will create an artificial pond or lake, fill up the reservoir with water and then drain it. With this design, the reservoir becomes the storage system.

“WorldWater & Solar has been working on proprietary technology over the years and has developed a water pumping solution for large-scale water-pumping agriculture situations,” Sethi said. The company is able to size the water pump to the end-user’s needs then engineer a solar array appropriate to run the pump.

The company has developed a number of patents and technological know-how that interconnects the pump with the solar array to get the most out of the pump, according to Sethi.

“Nobody has approached it at the level and scope we are able to do,” he said.

The company has already used its solar-powered Mobile Max system to irrigate a 400-acre citrus farm in California, according to Sethi. That system has been operational for over three years. And it’s Mobile MaxPure water pumping and filtration devices, mounted on trailers, are being used to purify water—even irradiated water in Japan—as part of disaster recovery efforts.

The technology could also help produce arable lands in other parts of the world, like Jordan and other parts of North Africa. In fact, the company already is preparing proposals for Sudan, Sethi said.

“Eventually, the technology and the system is applicable to South America all of Africa and Asia,” he said.

Image courtesy of WorldWater & Solar of a Mobile MaxPure system in Iraq.