Increased access to clean and reliable energy has become a leading priority for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and military agencies around the world, according to a new report from Pike Research.
Global military agencies' spending on renewable energy technologies will continue to rise rapidly over the next two decades, growing from $1.8 billion in 2010 to $26.8 billion by 2030, according to the report. The majority of this spending will be for mobility applications, including portable soldier power, as well as power for land, air and sea vehicles. Energy for facilities operations will represent a significant portion of the market as well.
‘Military investment in renewable energy and related technologies, in many cases, holds the potential to bridge the 'valley of death' that lies between research and development and full commercialization of these technologies,’ says Clint Wheelock, president of Pike Research.
‘As such, the myriad of military initiatives focused on fostering cleantech is anticipated to have a substantial impact on the development of the industry as a whole. This presents a sizable market opportunity for defense contractors, project developers and systems integrators and technology developers across all renewable energy sectors,’ he adds.
Pike Research's analysis indicates that in the facilities domain, the market opportunity is largest for solar energy, followed by wind power and geothermal. Military agencies are also utilizing microgrids for distributed energy generation that can be separated from the commercial power grid.
Pike's report provides an examination of military applications for renewable energy and related clean technologies. The study analyzes the economics and performance characteristics of emerging energy technologies across a host of application areas within the facilities, transport and portable power domains.
