By Eric Lindeman

In its third study on U.S. energy and national security since 2006, CNA’s Military Advisory Board has found that the nation’s current energy posture undermines economic security and poses an urgent threat to national security but, more importantly, that the Department of Defense could help turn the threat into a national economic opportunity.

Issued last week, “Powering America’s Economy: Energy Innovation at the Crossroads of National Security,” is the work of 15 top-ranking admirals and generals who comprise the Military Advisory Board (MAB) of CNA, a non-profit research organization.

In a statement accompanying release of the new report, CNA stressed that “economic security is integral to American national security. Without a strong economy, the United States has neither a strong defense, nor effective international influence.”

“We need to remain competitive in the world as we move toward a future of green, sustainable energy,” Gen. Charles Wald, a retired Air Force four-star, said. “The biggest motivation to do it is national security.”

Other nations–China, Spain, Germany, India and the United Arab Emirates–are pursuing clean energy economies and becoming world leaders in clean technologies. “While the United States cannot compete with many nations in low-cost manufacturing,” CNA said, “it can lead in the realm of developing cutting edge technologies and innovation in research and development.”

The organization added, “Like the space race, the race to develop and own clean energy technology has enormous and long-range strategic implications for national security. If it does not lead in the race to develop and deploy clean energy technology, the United States will have to buy it from other countries–and remain as dependent on foreign nations to meet our future energy needs, just as we are today on oil.”

Because of its size, its enormous demand for energy as well as its extensive experience in technological innovation, the Department of Defense is uniquely positioned to drive clean energy innovation–for itself and for the nation, CNA believes.

“Numerous widely adopted technologies, including the jet engine, gas turbines, solid-state electronics, and the Internet were pioneered by the United States military,” CNA said.

DoD’s partnership with the Department of Energy also is critical. While DoE has tremendous depth in its research and development capability for energy technologies and a vast knowledge base, DoD brings to the table a large-scale capacity to demonstrate, test, fund and field new energy technologies. An effective partnership between DoE and DoD “could greatly accelerate clean energy technologies through the pipeline to make them available to the American people as soon as possible,” the reported suggested.

“The DoD-DoE partnership, which has been successful in the past, could be instrumental in the move away from fossil fuels if there is a willingness to empower this team to seek clean, renewable, and economical sources of power for domestic use,” said MAB Chairman Gen. Gordon Sullivan, a retired Army chief of staff said.

“Energy business as usual is not an option,” the MAB warned, stressing that “The United States government should take bold and aggressive action to support clean energy technology innovation and significantly decrease the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels.”

U.S. fossil fuel dependence also directly affects military readiness and operations. The Defense Science Board examined the DoD’s energy challenges in 2008 and concluded that energy inefficiency and reliance on oil created many serious challenges to military effectiveness, including the following:

  • Cost: “Like the rest of the country, heavy dependence on oil has significant economic repercussions in DoD. Given the size of DoD and its rate of energy consumption, the effects are especially significant. In 2008, approximately $20 billion of DoD’s budget was spent on energy, of which $3.8 billion purchased electricity for installations.

“Over the past two decades, the Navy’s expenditure on energy has increased 500 percent. When the price of fuel spikes (as it will continue to do), it sends a readiness shock wave through DoD’s budget. Every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil costs the department $1.3 billion. That money comes at a direct and serious cost to other warfighting readiness priorities.

  • “Tactical vulnerability: The burden of delivering fuel supplies to the battlefield reduces combat effectiveness and creates tactical vulnerabilities.
  • “Grid vulnerability: At home, military installations are nearly completely dependent upon a commercial electric grid that is vulnerable to cyber attacks and natural disasters. The grid is becoming an even greater liability because U.S.-based military installations are increasingly being called upon to support real-time combat operations overseas (such as piloting Predator drones or processing battlefield intelligence).

The MAB, which produced the landmark 2007 report “National Security and the Threat of Climate Change” and the 2009 report “Powering America’s Defense: Energy and the Risks to National Security,” is comprised of retired 2-, 3- and 4-star flag and general officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard and Reserve. The board includes a former Army chief of staff, commanders of U.S. forces in global regions, and leaders in logistics, procurement, research and development, engineering, nuclear energy and ocean management.

The 2007 MAB report concluded that climate change is a “threat multiplier” because projected impacts will exacerbate existing security risks. Going beyond that finding, the 2009 report concluded, “Our approach to energy and our approach to climate change have profound impacts on each other–and both have impacts on our national security.”

The new report includes four distinct findings:

  • America’s energy choices are inextricably linked to national and economic security.
  • The clean energy technology revolution presents great challenges and great opportunities.
  • Energy business-as-usual is not a viable option for the United States.
  • DoD can be a powerful catalyst of energy innovation.

CNA’s MAB made five recommendations in the report:

  • The United States government should take bold and aggressive action to support clean energy technology innovation and rapidly decrease the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels.
  • The departments of Defense and Energy should more closely align their energy-related research and development activities, funding priorities and intellectual capital.
  • DoD should partner with private sector innovators and establish an Operational Energy Innovation Center.
  • DoD should require widespread sharing of energy information in its research and development enterprise.
  • DoD should include acquiring clean energy technologies as a priority in its installation acquisition strategy.