DOD allocates $346 million more for green energy

Within the Department of Defense’s announcement detailing further plans for facility improvements, under money allocated to it through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), there are some little green gems that may have gone unnoticed.

In its March Expenditure Plan, the Defense Department had said it planned to spend $300 million on “near-term energy technology research.”

Now it plans to spend an additional $346 million on “energy-related projects, enabling the DOD to lead the way in the national effort to achieve greater energy independence,” according to the Department of Defense April 28, 2009, Expenditure Plan (PDF).

As we’ve reported, even before ARRA was approved, the Defense Department began to move toward renovating its facilities to make them more energy-efficient.

In January, it awarded LED manufacturer Cree a contract to supply over 4,200 recessed LED lights for the Pentagon.

That same month the U.S. Army announced an initiative that could eventually replace 28,000 gas-powered vehicles at over 155 Army installations with neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs).

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