Solar Power and the Military

When we think of the modern military we know we are envisioning a highly technical entity. The military tends to be the first group to understand, use and implement some of the most modern discoveries.

This is true particularly where solar power is concerned. It is put to use on almost every piece of mobile equipment from tanks to jeeps. Some contemporary soldiers are outfitted and equipped with foldable solar panels (some with them built directly into field gear such as jackets) that can power small portable devices such as GPS units and even cell or satellite telephones. The modern military also uses solar technologies for less complex functions, such as solar powered floodlights used to illuminate flagpoles and memorials at military bases and buildings around the world.

Clearly, this all means that solar power has been constantly and continually improved and implemented by the military since it was first harnessed in the 1950s.

Today, solar technologies – particularly where the military is concerned – are put to use primarily for creating continuous feeds of energy. This is the reason that it appears on vehicles and in soldier's backpacks, and also the reason that it is used in the many satellites that orbit the Earth.

To date, one of the most discussed and anticipated of the military's solar projects is the space based solar collector farm. This is anticipated to be able to provide any military operation with a source of uninterrupted energy due to the satellite's location in outer space. The way it would work sounds extremely simple – the collectors would receive an endless supply of sunlight as they remained in orbit. This energy would then be transferred via a microwave beam to a ground based collector. This all translates to a military capacity for supplying any area of the planet (to which a collector was supplied) with electrical service regardless of weather conditions.

Additionally, the United States military is also the builder of the world's largest solar power plant. Currently, the Nellis Air Force base in Nevada has approximately 140 acres of solar panels, which are capable of providing 25% of the camp's energy usage. Once the panels are entirely operational they will be saving the base roughly $83,000 each year in electrical usage.

Of course it isn't just the financial savings that has the government, and everyone else, so deeply interested in solar power, it is also the ability to reduce energy consumption and instead rely on renewable resources.