US military plans to use geothermal energy at bases
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The US Department of Defense has announced the creation of prototype geothermal power plants at six bases, the National Defense Magazine website reports.
Geothermal energy is energy derived from the natural heat of the earth. The carriers of this energy can be water, steam-water mixtures, dry rock.
As noted, the dependence of military bases on civilian power grids makes them unacceptably vulnerable, for example, from natural disasters and cyber attacks.
As retired Air Force Major General Ken Vizian, deputy director of the Bureau of Economic Research at the University of Texas, said, geothermal energy is generated all the time, can be used anywhere, and its production can be quickly scaled up. This makes geothermal energy an ideal solution to address the vulnerabilities of the US military’s power grid, he said.
Vizian noted that geothermal energy has been in use for over 100 years, but its potential remains largely untapped. He said advances in drilling and exploration technology have given the industry a boost, and the US Air Force Energy Administration sees geothermal energy as the most promising option, rather than small modular nuclear reactor solutions.
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