By Tina Casey for Clean Technica
The simple fact is that coal just can’t keep up with the 21st century energy landscape. Climate change, resiliency impacts, and plain old bottom line considerations are driving renewable energy policies in the US military, in cities and states, and even within the president’s own cabinet. A case in point is the US Department of Energy, which is placing a $46 million bet on solar energy to address the problem of supplying emergency power for key community facilities.
The new pot of $46 million is coming from the perspective that on-site energy generation is the most efficient way to ensure that the lights stay on at critical facilities.
Somewhat ironically, coal used to fulfill that on-site energy function, at least for heat and hot water. Coal chutes and smokestacks were once a common feature of hospitals and other critical infrastructure around the US, including military facilities. Whatever happened to that? Who knows!
