US Military Wants To Harvest Solar Energy In Space And Beam It To Earth

 

Science Times: Space Solar Power Could Revolutionize Energy As US Air Force Plans to Harvest This Unlimited Source 

Around two months ago, Space.com reported that a US military space plane is being tested to gather space solar power from the Sun while flying on Earth's orbit. 

The classified mission of the X-37B robotic space plane of the US Space Force flew past 300 days in Earth's orbit that is said to carry the research Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module Flight Experiment (PRAM-FX) that investigates transforming solar energy and convert it into RF power.  

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Update #1: US Air Force Plans to Harvest Solar Energy in Space, Send It to Earth (Gadgets360) 

Update #2: US Military Plans To Harvest Solar Energy In Space, Beam It To Earth (Zero Hedge)  

WNU Editor: I first heard about this concept about 20 years ago. It looks like the technology and engineering has now caught-up to make it practical.

Has The U.S. Navy Found A Way To Make Fuel Out Of Sea Water?

Could You Soon Be Filling Up With SEAWATER? US Navy Reveals 'Game Changing' Fuel Created From Water -- Daily Mail

* Has flown radio controlled plane using 'sea fuel' in first test of new fuel
* New technique can capture 92% of CO2 in water to create jet fuel
* Could be used to create fuel for any vehicle without having to modify engines

The US Navy has developed a radical new fuel made from seawater.

They say it could change the way we produce fuel - and allow warships to stay at sea for years at a time.

Navy scientists have spent several years developing the process to take seawater and use it as fuel, and have now used the 'game changing' fuel to power a radio controlled plane in the first test.

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My Comment: I am always super-duper skeptical when I am reading reports like this one .... but these researcher believe that they have a winner.

The High Cost Of The Pentagon's Green Energy Program

As Pentagon Invests In Green Fuel, Critics Focus On The Cost -- L.A. Times

On a recent Navy voyage, alternative fuel cost $26 a gallon, and millions are being invested in bioenergy firms. Some experts worry there won't be sufficient benefits.

WASHINGTON — When the U.S. Navy sailed an imposing fleet near Hawaii that was powered in part by algae and used cooking grease, environmentalists weren't the only ones who were thrilled.

Executives at bioenergy startups in the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago and elsewhere — and the venture capitalists backing them — had reason to cheer. The Obama administration has made the military, the largest consumer of energy in the country, a financial lifeline for cash-strapped alternative fuel innovators.

But the pilot voyage of the Navy's "great green fleet" came with a troubling aspect: price.

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My Comment: These "green technologies" were developed on the false assumption that traditional energy sources were becoming scarce. In fact .... as developments in fracking have shown .... recent innovations in extracting oil have resulted in an opposite outcome.

Fracking Will Impact Today's Geopolitical Status Quo

How Fracking Could Affect U.S. Policy Towards The Middle East -- Daniel J. Gallington, U.S. News And World Report

Daniel Gallington is the Senior Policy and Program Adviser at the George C. Marshall Institute in Arlington, Va. He served in senior national security policy positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Justice, and as bipartisan general counsel for the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.


In the news a lot recently is "fracking," the shorthand for "fracturing". It's an oil-drilling technique that's becoming increasingly effective for recovering lots of oil and gas from rock formations—and is undergoing widening application in the United States.

In fact, a recent public report by the National Intelligence Council says that modern fracking for oil in the United States is a "technological revolution, which won't be completely understood for some time." And that "in a tectonic shift, energy independence is not unrealistic for the US in as short a period as 10-20 years."

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My Comment: For much of the past 40 years U.S. foreign policy has been influenced and guided by it's need for energy .... if this status quo can be changed, the consequences on us and on countries like Iran, Venezuela, Russia, Saudi Arabia .... all of this can only work in our favor (environmental concerns aside).

America’s Solar Soldiers

Solar Panel in Afghanistan. Photo credit: Popsci.com/Major Paul Greenberg/U.S.M.C.

America’s Solar Soldiers -- Global Post

The Pentagon turns to green energy — to save lives and build military strength.

NEW YORK — They're some of the country's most important environmental activists, poised to change the way we create, consume and conceive of energy.

But you won't find this cadre of green preachers on a college campus, or emceeing the Sierra Club's annual meeting.

You'll find them, clad in blazers and pantsuits, pushing their agenda behind the guarded walls of the Pentagon.

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My Comment: The modern military needs fuel and energy .... finding a more effective way to deliver it will go a long way to minimize casualties (for those who deliver it), and to make FOBs less dependent on these supplies for their operations.

Green Generators For The U.S. Military

Lockheed Gambles On Green Generators For U.S. Military -- Forbes

Lockheed Martin, the multinational security and aerospace conglomerate based in Bethesda, Maryland, is developing solid oxide fuel cell generators that will replace reliance on traditional battlefield power solutions and potentially reduce the fuel required for tactical generation of electric power by half or more.

The fuel cell technology, which is being developed with support of the U.S. Office of Naval Research, will be tailored to integrate with solar PV panels, which will reduce the amount of fuel needed to support forward operating military bases. In less than years, Lockheed plans to “demonstrate and deliver a multi-kilowatt JP-8 compatible Fuel Cell Efficient Power Node for evaluation by the U.S. Marines.”

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My Comment: The availability and access to power is one of the many essential components for any modern military. Any enhancement of power availability will have long term benefits.

The U.S. Navy's Biofuels Project Draws Criticism

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan travels through the Pacific Ocean with other ships assigned to the Rim of the Pacific 2010 exercise, north of Hawaii, July 24, 2010. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Dylan McCord

Military Spending On Biofuels Draws Fire -- New York Times

When the Navy put a Pacific fleet through maneuvers on a $12 million cocktail of biofuels this summer, it proved that warships could actually operate on diesel from algae or chicken fat.

“It works in the engines that we have, it works in the aircraft that we have, it works in the ships that we have,” said Ray Mabus, secretary of the Navy. “It is seamless.”

The still-experimental fuels are also expensive — about $27 a gallon for the fuel used in the demonstration, compared with about $3.50 a gallon for conventional military fuels.

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My Comment: In a time of tight budgets .... they spend money on this?

Is The U.S. Navy's Biofuels Program A Boondoggle?

Last month, the U.S. Navy deployed the Paul F. Foster - a decommissioned destroyer now used for experimental purposes - on a 17-hour voyage powered by Solazyme Inc.'s algae-derived biofuel. Photo: U.S. Navy

McCain Sees Another Solyndra In Navy Biofuels Spending -- The Hill

The Navy’s push to develop biofuels to run its fleet of planes and warships could devolve into a “Solyndra situation” for the Pentagon, a top Republican senator said today.

During Tuesday’s hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, ranking member John McCain (R-Ariz.) compared the now-bankrupt solar energy company, into which the White House sank $535 million in loan guarantees, to Navy-led efforts in alternative energy.

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My Comment: What caught my eye was the following ....

.... But Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) pointed out that even at a competitive price, the Navy’s plan to use a “50/50 blend” of diesel fuel and a biofuel supplement would still cost $15 per gallon. Traditional JP-5 jet fuel used in the Navy’s fighter aircraft runs $4 to $5 per gallon on average, Inhofe said.

$15 per gallon !!!!! .... you've got to be kidding me. And what is even worse is that these are just projections .... projections from a government agency that has a lousy record in projecting anything.

Bottom line .... it is too expensive and if implemented will help in busting the defense department's budget. My suggestion .... go back to the drawing board and find an alternative plan that is more practical and economically feasible.

Apple Is Trying To Do It's Part In Weaning Us Away From Being Dependent On Energy From Unstable Middle Eastern Governments

Apple

Apple Posits Fuel-Cell Powered Laptops -- Time

Imagine futuristic laptops even thinner and lighter than the MacBook Air, capable of running for several days or even weeks without recharging–Apple certainly is, as a couple U.S. patents published yesterday reveal.

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My Comment: The part of Apple's patent application that I liked the best was this one ....

.... "has forced our government to maintain complicated political and military relationships with unstable governments in the Middle East".

Their analysis is spot on if you ask me.

The Real Threat From China

The Real China Threat -- Stephen Leeb, Time

China continues to snatch up precious natural resources while they're still available. Will the U.S. step up before it's too late?

Ordinary Americans and policymakers in Washington have plenty to worry about these days: unemployment, housing, deficits and debt, not to mention terrorism, wars and myriad foreign crises.

But there’s another looming issue that actually trumps those. It’s China’s push — while the U.S. sits on the sidelines — to amass the lion’s share of natural resources such as copper, silver and rare-earth elements, which are essential to renewable energies and are becoming scarcer and more expensive.

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My Comment: Stepheen Leeb believes that pursuing alternative energies will be the lever that will position the U.S. to offset China's rise .... I am saying that it will not. Our problems are far worse than that .... and thinking that windmills and solar panels will solve them .... hmmmm .... nope.

A Wearable Power System That Will Power A Soldier's Radios And Electronics

A Marine gears up for a patrol in March in Northern Marjah, Afghanistan. The Corps is looking for a wearable power system that could provide energy to radios and other electronics. Sgt. Jesse Stence / Marine Corps

Corps Seeks Wearable System To Power Equipment -- Marine Times

The Corps has launched a new effort to find a wearable power system that provides energy to radios and other electronics that Marines carry with them in the field.

The service zeroed in on researching the systems as part of its next Expeditionary Forward Operating Base event, Marine officials said. The ExFOB team, based at the Pentagon, will evaluate the most promising systems at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in an exhibition from April 30 to May 4, said Maj. Sean Sadlier, a logistics analyst in the Corps’ Expeditionary Energy Office.

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My Comment: It sure beats lugging around batteries or fuel to power the generators.

The Military Can Now Burn Their Trash More Efficiently

Video: Military Garbage Burner Utterly Destroys Trash, With Tactical Precision -- Popular Science

A new, compact gasification contraption can dramatically compress the things our armed forces leave behind, turning trash into ash. Marines at Camp Smith, Hawaii, are testing the new unit to verify whether it could be used at forward operating bases to cut down on landfill. The Micro Auto Gasification System, or MAGS, can bake 100 pounds of garbage and compress it into 5 pounds of ash, while creating more energy than it consumes.

It could someday handle the daily waste needs of 1,000 Marines at a forward operating base, according to the Office of Naval Research.

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My Comment: Talk about pushing the green agenda .... but I must confess that the concept makes sense (so far).

How Unconventional Oil Is Shifting The Energy Balance Of Power

Unconventional Oil Shifting The Energy Balance Of Power -- Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi Aramco said Monday that its dominant role in world oil supply had been altered by large new reserves in North America, sapping the urgency to develop the Kingdom’s own reserves.

The speech by Saudi Aramco’s Chief Executive Khalid Al-Falih was the first from the oil exporter to acknowledge that unconventional oil was set to shift the energy balance of power and cut US dependence on Middle East crude.

“The abundance of resources and the more ‘balanced’ geographical distribution of unconventionals have reduced the much-hyped concerns over ‘energy security’ which once served as the undercurrent driving energy policies and dominated the global energy debate,” Al-Falih said.

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My Comment: The Saudis are recognizing the impact that new technologies will have on the energy balance in the world .... even if the White House tries it's best to delay it.

Scandal Ridden And Bankrupt Solyndra Came Close To Having A US Navy Deal

WSJ's Peter Landers has exclusive details of one of Solyndra's investors assisting the solar-power company land a lucrative U.S. Navy contract. Photo: REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Solyndra Came Close to Landing Navy Deal -- Wall Street Journal

A major investor in Solyndra LLC was instrumental in helping the troubled solar-power firm compete for a potentially lucrative U.S. Navy deal, a previously unreported connection that will likely fuel controversy surrounding the company.

Solyndra was promoted to the Navy by RockPort Capital, one of the firm's largest investors and board members, which has a seat on a Pentagon panel that helps the government find emerging technologies.

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More News On Solyndra Landing A Navy Deal

Solyndra Investor’s Role in a U.S. Navy Project Gets Republican Scrutiny -- Bloomberg
Solyndra investor promoted panels to the Navy: report -- Reuters
Solyndra Neared Navy Deal -- Daily Beast
Solyndra Almost Scored Navy Deal -- Newser

My Comment: The Solyndra scandal and the politics behind it has tarnished the US solar industry .... and could have tarnished the US Navy and its efforts to develop alternative energies. On a side note .... the U.S. military's efforts to develop renewable and alternative energies is big business, with some reports indicating budgets that will total $10 billion annually till 2030.

So Much For The U.S. Military Going Green

Photo: US Department of Defense

Solyndra Fall-Out Could Tank Solar For Military Bases -- CNET

SolarCity said today that the Department of Energy has not been able to finalize a loan guarantee for a project to install rooftop solar panels on military bases, blaming the political furor caused by bankrupt solar company Solyndra.

Earlier this month, the Department of Energy announced a $344 million conditional loan guarantee agreement with SolarCity to install solar photovoltaic panels at Department of Defense bases in 33 states. The distributed solar project, called SolarStrong, would have doubled the number of residential solar installations in the U.S. and would have been the largest rooftop solar project.

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My Comment: The sheer thievery and incompetence of Solyndra all but guarantees that future government monies for such projects will disappear .... especially when Congress starts to do what they should have done with Solyndra .... provide oversight and accountability.

Renewable Energy Being Introduced Into Afghanistan

Soldiers inspect the inside of a generator during the recent Power User Conference. Standardized military generators are evolving to consume less fuel and link together to intelligently manage the power supply. Photo credit Claire Heininger

U.S. Marines Get A Boost From Solar Power In Afghanistan -- Daily Tech

While most alternative energy advocates and critics focus their attention on macro-solar power -- vast fields of panels or collecting dishes -- there has also been a lot of recent growth in micro-solar power (using solar cells to recharge portable devices).

The U.S. Marines has just completed a test of new solar-powered gear in the field in Afghanistan. The new equipment was trialed by India Company, a component of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. The test lasted three weeks and took the company through Sangin, one of the deadliest regions in southern Afghanistan.

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More News On the Use Of Renewable Energy In Afghanistan

Solar Updates Marines' Arsenal -- Wall Street Journal
Army's Ambitious Renewable Energy Goals Run Into War-Zone Realities -- Climate Wire/New York Times
Solar Power Means Less Batteries and More Bullets for U.S. Marines -- FOX News
Troops explore emerging energy solutions -- U.S. Air Force
Marines switching to solar power -- Cooler Planet
Troops explore current, future energy solutions at Mobile Electric Power event -- Army.mil

Marines In Afghanistan Are Getting Use To Using Solar Panels

Marines With ExFOB Marines and sailors of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment pose with their Afghan national army counterparts in front of a solar power generator at Patrol Base Sparks, in Sangin District, Afghanistan. Photo by Gunnery Sgt. William Price/USMC

Marines in Afghanistan Find That Solar Panels Save Soldiers' Lives -- Popular Science

A battalion of Marines in Afghanistan is going green, using solar panels to reduce their energy consumption and thereby reduce the things they carry — and even save lives.

The Marines and sailors of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment arrived last October at Forward Operating Base Jackson, outside Sangin, Afghanistan, with an array of solar equipment. The battalion’s generators typically use more than 20 gallons of fuel a day, but the Marines have cut that to 2.5 gallons a day, according to Staff Sgt. David Doty, who maintains the gear.

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My Comment: I just hope that they do not get cloudy days for a long period of time.

Green Energy Has Not Benefited The U.S. Army

A display of camelina and algae fuels and processes for making renewable fuels. John F. Williams/United States Navy

Alternative Fuels Don’t Benefit The Military, A RAND Report Says -- New York Times

The United States would derive no meaningful military benefit from increased use of alternative fuels to power its jets, ships and other weapons systems, according to a government-commissioned study by the RAND Corporation scheduled for release Tuesday.

The report also argued that most alternative-fuel technologies were unproven, too expensive or too far from commercial scale to meet the military’s needs over the next decade.

In particular, the report argued that the Defense Department was spending too much time and money exploring experimental biofuels derived from sources like algae or the flowering plant camelina, and that more focus should be placed on energy efficiency as a way of combating greenhouse gas emissions.

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Update #1: Biofuels of No Benefit to Military -- RAND -- New York Times
Update #2: Study says greener military isn't better military, DoD disagrees -- CNN
Update #3: No Direct Military Benefit From Use of Alternative Fuels by Armed Forces, RAND Study Finds -- AScribe.org
Comment #4: Biofuels Can’t Cut Military Muster, Study Says -- Forbes
Comment #5: Biofuels and the Military: Reality Strikes Back -- OpenMarket.org

My Comment: The military is circling the wagons on this one. Considering how much has already been spent ..... and how much is in the pipeline to be spent .... this should not be a surprised.

The full Rand report can be read here.

The U.S. Military Plans To Go Green

An F/A-18 Super Hornet is seen in Patuxent River, Maryland on March 29, 2010. The aircraft will test replacement biofuel made from the camelina plant in an effort to certify alternative fuels for naval aviation use. UPI/Noel Hepp/U.S. Navy

U.S. Navy Spells Out Green Agenda -- UPI

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy aims to use alternative energy to meet 50 percent of its needs within the next 10 years, an environmental official said in Washington.

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Philip Cullom, a director of environmental readiness for the force, said the Navy was testing a command boat that used a 50-50 blend of algae-based fuel and conventional petroleum as part of a green-energy campaign.

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More News On The U.S. Military's Goal Of Going Green

U.S. Navy Works to Create Greener Footprint -- Defpro
Military, gov't increase investment in algae fuels -- AP
Navy Debuts First Eco-Friendly Ship: A ‘Mean, Green Riverine Machine’ -- The Danger Room
US Navy tests boat powered by seaweed -- The Telegraph
US navy completes successful test on boat powered by algae -- The Guardian
Like the Rest of the Military, the U.S. Coast Guard Is Going 'Green' -- National Defense
U.S. Navy, Cobalt to develop military jet biofuel -- Mil-Tech
Cobalt Technologies and U.S. Navy to Jointly Develop Military Jet Fuel -- PR Newswire
Cobalt Technologies inks Navy jet fuel deal -- SF Business Times
The Pentagon Wants Green Energy To Power US Troops -- Green Investing
Surging price of oil forces US military to seek alternative energy sources -- The Guardian
Is the Pentagon Serious About Going Green? -- Mil-Tech
Pentagon going green, because it has to -- Olivia Hampton, Vancouver Sun/AFP
Military Makes Efforts to Go Green for Safety -- Elizabeth Barthelmes, The Heights
EarthTalk: Can the Military Go Green -- Infozine
US Military: Still the World's Largest Polluter -- Tree Hugger

US Navy Has Successfully Tested A Boat That Uses Fuel From Seaweed

The Navy said that the boat's performance was indistinguishable from a boat using standard diesel fuel Photo: GETTY IMAGES

US Navy Tests Boat Powered By Seaweed -- The Telegraph

The US Navy has successfully tested a boat that uses fuel derived from seaweed.

In an attempt to reduce the Navy's dependence on petroleum, engineers designed and built an experimental craft that runs on a blend of 50 per cent diesel and 50 per cent algae-based fuel.

The 49-foot command boat, which is intended for use in rivers and marshes, was tested at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia, reaching a speed of 44.5 knots.

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My Comment: The US Navy's energy/fuel bill is astronomical each year .... any alternative fuels that can undercut this expense will be appreciated.