When the US Army takes a small break from those unnecessary and probably unnecessary wars, or don’t plan new ones, they manage to amaze us. I’m talking about the latest initiative to build a 500MW solar thermal plant in the Mojave Desert near Fort Irwin, CA, that will help them cut down $21 million a year from their $3 billion energy bill.

Set to be ready in 2014, the new solar plant is not only going to reduce the risk of power interruptions but will also reduce the carbon footprint by 4,015,000 tons. No word on how much money it will cost to build this military installation but it sounds like a better way to spend money.

Keith Eastin, the Army’s assistant secretary for Installations & Environment said that the new solar thermal plant will be built in the name of energy security and not necessarily the environment. However the US Army plans to buy 4,000 electric vehicles for maintenance and operations and also a joint geothermal initiative with the Navy that should be ready by 2012 and would provide 30 megawatts of power at Hawthorne Army Depot, Nevada.

Is the US Army turning eco-friendly?

Image courtesy of Schwarzerkater

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