Date: 9/23/2013

The U.S. Army's Energy Initiatives Task Force (EITF) recently announced the selection of 17 Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOCs) to qualified wind technology contractors. Contractors will compete for future wind energy task orders issued under the MATOC by the Army or Department of Defense (DoD).

Robi Robichaud, senior engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and project lead of federal wind activities for the Department of Energy's Wind Powering America initiative, says this step will have a positive impact on the future development of renewable energy on Army lands.

"The Army EITF task order approach to developing large-scale commercial wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal projects on Army lands represents a positive and innovative step forward for the Army in achieving its 1-gigawatt renewable energy goal by 2025," Robichaud said. "There are significant opportunities for cost-effective commercial wind projects on Army lands, and pre-selecting the contractors should positively impact the contracting process for the Army, resulting in more rapid development and deployment of wind projects."

According to the Army's press release, "The MATOC will be used to procure reliable, locally generated, renewable and alternative energy for DoD installations through power purchase agreements (PPAs)."

Robichaud said the PPA approach will benefit the government and DoD, allowing them to develop key resources with minimal risk.

"The PPA approach keeps the government investment to a minimum while enabling commercial contractors and developers to do what they do best: develop successful, cost-effective wind projects. The enhanced energy security and operating resilience for DoD bases is an added plus," Robichaud said. "NREL looks forward to continuing to support the Army EITF and the DoD in meeting its renewable energy goals."

The MATOCs for this project are a result of DoD agencies seeking Request for Quotations/Request for Proposals from contractors/vendors for future wind energy task orders. For more information, see the Army EITF.

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.