Reenergizing America's Defense: Military Bases and Energy Conservation at a Glance

The Department of Defense has taken major steps to develop and deploy a strategy to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. The department, with an energy budget of $20 billion, accounts for nearly 80 percent of the U.S. government's energy consumption. For every $10 increase in the per-barrel price of oil, DoD incurs more than $1.3 billion in additional energy costs. But in addition to the financial costs, security risks also are posed by climate change, which DoD addressed for the first time in the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review Report, declaring, “[C]limate change … may act as an accelerant of instability or conflict, placing a burden to respond on civilian institutions and militaries around the world.” With clear concerns about the links between climate change, energy and national security, military bases around the country are taking steps to reduce their dependence on fossil-based fuels, become more energy efficient, reduce carbon emissions and develop innovative solutions using clean energy technology.