THE EUROPEAN – SECURITY AND DEFENCE UNION
The planning of “smart energy” micro grids will become part of NATO training courses
Making progress in energy efficiency for NATO forces
by Susanne Michaelis and Lukas Trakimavičius, Emerging Security Challenges Division, NATO HQ, Brussels
Over the past years, enhancing the energy efficiency of military forces become an increasingly prominent part of NATO’s agenda. The issue has found its way into Summit Declarations, with NATO Heads of State and Government stating their determination to “work towards significantly improving the energy efficiency of our military forces”. The stakeholder community within and beyond NATO has grown steadily. Exercises have featured various “smart” energy solutions. Finally yet importantly, the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence has devoted a large share of its activities to the military energy efficiency challenge.
Establishing resilient energy supply The move to enhancing the energy efficiency of NATO’s armed forces remained so compelling that it was not derailed by Russia’s low-level war against Ukraine and NATO’s subsequent re-emphasis of collective defence. While the NATO Allies’ pre-2014 frame of reference had been shaped by the fuel supply challenges in Afghanistan, Iraq or Mali, it became increasingly clear that “smart energy” was also going to be relevant for collective defence. For example, establishing a resilient energy supply for forward deployed forces in Eastern Europe requires sound and resilient energy logistics. With the compelling logic of “smart energy” clearly established, how will the story unfold from here?
reducing fossil fuel consumption with relatively little effort and cost. As more nations are planning to procure technologies for micro grids, it makes sense to focus on standards, for example for the accurate measurement and logging of data, for enabling the smooth integration of different technologies into the energy management system of a camp. The proposal to establish a Smart Energy Training and Assessment Camp (SETAC) in the framework of NATO’s smart seeks to accelerate progress in this regard. Once a lead nation has been found, the SETAC could also play a role in encouraging the harmonisation of data collection (power production, generator effectiveness etc.). Another option could be a NATO Science for Peace and Security project that aims at developing a NATO camp planning model to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the life cycle management costs. Yet another area of mainstreaming pertains to the NATO Defence Planning Process (NDPP). If energy efficiency were recognised as a so-called “Minimum Capability Requirement”, and be integrated into the NDPP, it would boost the importance and visibility of the subject across the entire Alliance. 2. The second step is the further broadening of the exchange of information and best practices. As mentioned above, the “smart energy” stakeholder community has grown, with more experts from more interested nations. This community has been instrumental in achieving many important milestones:
The game is going on Three steps appear essential: 1. The first step is the mainstreaming of “smart energy” into NATO’s policies and activities. One major challenge is standards – the key to interoperable forces. They are one crucial factor in NATO’s unrivalled military competence, irrespective whether the issue is purchasing ammunition or integrating technologies into micro grids to power a field camp. Consequently, NATO has started the process of updating existing policies and standards. However, NATO is also looking into new standards, notably regarding smart micro grids for field camps. Smart micro grids are a “quick win” for
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HGPS (Hybrid Generation Power System) during the NATO-exercise Strong Hussar (2016) in Lithuania supplying a military camp with energy
Source: NATO ENSEC COE
