The U.S. Army this month established an Energy Initiatives Office (EIO) Task Force, which could have a significant effect on the growth of the solar energy industry.
I first studied solar energy in junior high school in the mid-1960s (the Bell Labs “From Sun to Sound” kit pictured here is similar to the one we built). Inquiring minds wanted to know at the time whether solar energy could ever replace oil and coal (yes, we thought about that stuff even back then, especially we science fiction fans and radio club geeks). ‘Too expensive now,’ was the response, ‘but if the military starts using these technologies, that will drive down the cost and make solar energy affordable in the commercial market.’
Initiatives now underway by branches of the military could help accelerate that decrease in costs and continued expansion for the growing solar industry.
An announcement Aug. 10, 2011, from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) says that the new EIO Task Force will be operational by Sept. 15, 2011, and “will serve as the central managing office for the development of large-scale Army renewable energy projects.” John M. McHugh, secretary of the Army, is quoted as saying,
thomasnet
