Jul 23, 2007: CONGRESSWOMAN KAPTUR DESIGNATES $7.1 MILLION TO SHOWCASE OUR LOCAL NATIONAL GUARD FACILITIES AS NATIONAL MODELS FOR ALTERNATIVE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY

Goal is Energy Security and Base Energy Independence

RepresentativeKaptur announced she has secured $7.1 million from the U.S. Departmentof Defense to make two area National Guard bases production sites forrenewable energy technologies with the goal of securing base energyindependence. Kaptur said she hopes the bases will serve as nationalmodels as the first energy self-sufficient Guard bases in the country.

Congresswoman Kaptur made the announcement at the 180th Ohio AirNational Guard Base at Toledo Express Airport along with Guardofficials and representatives of the University of Toledo. Both the180th Fighter Wing facility at Toledo Express and the 200th Red HorseSquadron at Camp Perry near Port Clinton will serve as prototype sitesfor base energy conversion, she said.

"Our nation's security and our homeland military base securitydepend on energy independence from fossil fuel imports and, for ourbases, from the public utility grid as well," Kaptur said. "By firstfocusing on the energy security of our military, we advance alternativeand renewable energy forward for our region's economic wellbeing andfor our nation's health and safety."

Kaptur has been spearheading defense energy independence as a memberof the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. The demonstrationproject at the 180th Fighter Wing will not only enhance facilityoperations but also improve internal base security and promote costsavings. Phase I involves technical evaluations of the site forstationary power from photovoltaic sources. Phase II will implementfirst phase recommendations to construct a photovoltaic-based system toreduce use of and dependence on fossil fuel public utility sources, toreduce base expenditures on electricity, and to reduce harmfulemissions. The federal financial commitment from Fiscal Years 2006 and2007 is $5.1 million.

Federal support will also allow a demonstration project through the200th Red Horse Squadron at Camp Perry with similar goals but exploringa different alternative energy technology. Phase I of this effort willevaluate operational, safety, environmental and energy requirements ofstationary wind power at the facility. After evaluation, Phase II willimplement a technical path forward of either a 600 kilowatt windturbine or a solar installation. The federal financial commitment fromFY 2006 and 2007 is $2.0 million.

Guard officials at both bases will work together with local publicand private sector entities to explore wind, solar, hydrogen fuel cellsand other alternative energy options, and to explore environmentalimpacts, particularly of wind turbines. Chief among these partners isthe University of Toledo with its Photovoltaic Innovation andCommercialization Wright Center and its Center for PhotovoltaicElectricity and Hydrogen, a Wright project.

Both projects anticipate developing expandable systems for follow-oncapability to produce hydrogen for fuel cells and power supportequipment such as low-speed vehicles and generators.

Since public funds are involved, Kaptur said cooperative agreementswith local governments are possible so that any excess energy producedby these alternative means would be made available to supplement energydistributed across the local grid.

Kaptur said she hopes the projects evolve beyond facilitiesmanagement to include fleet management as well. She noted that theDefense Department purchases more energy than any other buyer in ournation and operates one of the largest fleets of vehicles in thegovernment.

"The use of ethanol, biodiesel and hydrogen vehicles shouldeventually be part of these demonstration projects to see how we canconvert vehicles and provide biofuels to displace the use of petroleum,much of which is imported from unstable regions of the world. My goalis to empower the Department of Defense as a leader in making the U.S.energy independent," concluded the Congresswoman.