Unleashing the Grid: Energy Dominance for National Defense
Published by The Association of Defense Communities and Converge Strategies
The Association of Defense Communities (ADC) and Converge Strategies, LLC (CSL) released a new publication, “Unleashing the Grid: Energy Dominance for National Defense.”
The publication introduces a framework for defense stakeholders to understand electric grid risks in their regions and explore national defense opportunities that a stronger transmission infrastructure backbone presents.
The Big Picture
Fortifying America’s electric grid is critical to providing the reliable, secure, and affordable delivery of electricity to drive U.S. defense industries and sustain military preparedness. The electric grid is essential to U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) missions, and this dependency will only increase. Achieving energy dominance for national defense requires having the resources needed to execute critical missions regardless of adverse conditions.
Why It Matters
“We know that significant portions of the country are at grave risk of not being able to meet the projected electricity demands in the coming years,” said Wilson Rickerson, Co-Founder and President of Converge Strategies. “Considering that almost every DoD mission depends on the civilian electric grid, we must create onramps to integrate the defense perspective when making decisions about critical electric infrastructure investments.”
The “Unleashing the Grid” framework orients defense stakeholders to current electricity infrastructure trends and explores opportunities where defense input could strengthen and expand the electric grid.
“National security starts at home, and that includes investments in the critical energy infrastructure that ensures the readiness of our installations and the communities they call home,” said Matt Borron, Executive Director, ADC
What’s Next?
Aligning transmission grid investment with national defense requires shifting how energy infrastructure in the U.S. is financed, planned, and permitted. CSL and ADC are working with defense communities to better understand the opportunities related to grid reliability, transmission planning, and national defense. Stay connected on defense-relevant transmission updates on www.UnleashtheGrid.org.
How It Started.
“Unleashing the Grid” builds on the key concepts outlined in ADC and CSL’s, “Transmission Expansion For National Defense (TREND), which linked mission assurance to a resilient transmission system.
