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Saving energy, water can save Marines' lives in war zone Date published: 3/16/2010
By RUSTY DENNEN Each time a gallon of diesel fuel or fresh water makes its way to Marines in forward operating bases in Afghanistan, it puts them at risk. That's because supply convoys are vulnerable to roadside bombs, the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops in the war zone. To help counter the threat, Marines are going green--and it has nothing to do with uniforms. They're adopting green technologies to stretch supplies of fuel, water and energy, thereby limiting Marines' exposure on the road. Some of the equipment is already showing up in rugged forward outposts--cutting-edge solar panels that significantly reduce diesel needed to run generators, and water-purification pods. Just how high a priority it is was evident at Friday's first-ever Experimental Forward Operating Base exhibition at Quantico. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway, who has mentioned the need for energy conservation and sustainability efforts in several speeches, stopped by about a dozen booths to see it for himself. Surrounded by a phalanx of other Marine brass, he asked questions and talked to a few of the vendors. One of them was Ron Mason, technical sales director of PowerFilm, of Ames, Iowa, which bonds flexible solar-power cells to tent fabric. The company's PowerShade is a large tent with partial sides that sits over a tent that might be used for a command post, clinic or mess hall in the field. The solar cells on the roof, about as thick and flexible as an envelope, provide two kilowatts of power an hour to run equipment and electronics. If the tent it is sheltering is air-conditioned, he said, that will require about 40 percent less power from a generator. "We're deployed in Afghanistan," he said, with about 40 in use throughout the military. Mason said the military is aggressively evaluating new technology. "The Marine Corps is way ahead of the curve in doing these types of things," he said. Robert Park, president of Shift Power Solutions of Encinitas, Calif., was showing off his company's energy-management system that uses solar panels and lithium battery-storage to supplement generator power. It can cut fuel consumption by 43 percent. Two 5-gallon fuel cans and a generator were positioned in front of the display.
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