Defense Department issues RFI for carbon free electricity
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) issued a Request for Information (RFI), looking for information on supplying carbon-free electricity to the federal government.
DoD officials said this RFI is an important step forward in transforming how the U.S. government buys and manages electricity. Its goal is to put the nation on a path to achieving a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035.
“This action represents a key initial milestone in meeting the President’s goal of powering Federal facilities with 24/7 carbon pollution-free electricity,” Federal Chief Sustainability Officer Andrew Mayock said. “By leveraging the government’s scale and procurement power to become a carbon-free electricity leader, the Biden-Harris Administration will accelerate the development of America’s emerging cleantech industries, create good jobs for American workers, and provide a strong foundation for American businesses to compete and win globally in the 21st-century economy.”
The Department of Defense is the largest energy user in the federal government and one of the largest electricity purchasers in the world. It plans to leverage that scale to accelerate the deployment of carbon pollution-free electricity and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
“As one of the largest electricity users in the country, the Department of Defense has an opportunity to lead the way in transitioning to carbon-free electricity,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said. “It’s not just critical to addressing the threat of climate change, but also to our national security as we work to secure U.S. competitiveness in rapidly-shifting global energy markets. The RFI we released today sends a clear signal to the market that the Department of Defense is well underway in our efforts to support President Biden’s Executive Order to achieve a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035.”
One of the objectives of this RFI is to demonstrate the intent to achieve 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity for federal operations by using a whole-of-government approach. It also seeks to understand the ability of the industry to supply 24×7 hourly matched carbon pollution-free electricity and gather pricing information based on scale. Further, it looks to gather information from the industry on potential approaches to meeting the targets set by the Federal Sustainability Plan.
“As a leader in procuring electricity for government, GSA is committed to working with DoD and other partner agencies to move us all toward sourcing 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity,” GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said. “Powering the federal government with 100 percent clean energy will mean more clean jobs in communities, more clean energy sources in the market, and a cleaner planet for everyone. With help from industry and key partners like DoD, we can put the country on the path toward a more resilient and sustainable future.”
With more than 300,000 buildings and 600,000 vehicles, the federal government is the nation’s largest energy consumer.
