Fort Hood Army Base Goes Green
By: Stephanie Castillo
Updated: November 4, 2011
FORT HOOD -- The United States Army uses green in its camouflage uniforms, but is not hiding from another form of green.
The military base at Fort Hood is turning to solar energy. By next spring Liberty Village, a Fort Hood neighborhood, will be sun-powered.
Fort Hood's Director of Public Works, Brian Dosa, says, "It's a great step forward for Fort Hood as we try to move away from fossil fuels and dependence on fossil fuels and move more towards renewable sources of energy that are cleaner."
Liberty Village is home to about three hundred army families. When the solar panel project is complete there will be three thousand panels in the neighborhood.
Richard Bischoff says, "It'll do about twenty two percent of our total energy consumption. And the houses here are electric, because we didn't have natural gas when we built them back in the eighties so, we'll be able to use the energy year-round."
The United States Army's net zero renewable energy plan aims to have every military base produce as much energy as it uses. This is not only to save the environment, but its also key to energy security. By generating the electricity themselves, either through solar or wind power, it gives the base greater security and less dependence on power coming from outside the Fort Hood.
Planners estimate the solar array should producer about one million kilowatt hours every year, and the project should be complete by March 2012.
The military base at Fort Hood is turning to solar energy. By next spring Liberty Village, a Fort Hood neighborhood, will be sun-powered.
Fort Hood's Director of Public Works, Brian Dosa, says, "It's a great step forward for Fort Hood as we try to move away from fossil fuels and dependence on fossil fuels and move more towards renewable sources of energy that are cleaner."
Liberty Village is home to about three hundred army families. When the solar panel project is complete there will be three thousand panels in the neighborhood.
Richard Bischoff says, "It'll do about twenty two percent of our total energy consumption. And the houses here are electric, because we didn't have natural gas when we built them back in the eighties so, we'll be able to use the energy year-round."
The United States Army's net zero renewable energy plan aims to have every military base produce as much energy as it uses. This is not only to save the environment, but its also key to energy security. By generating the electricity themselves, either through solar or wind power, it gives the base greater security and less dependence on power coming from outside the Fort Hood.
Planners estimate the solar array should producer about one million kilowatt hours every year, and the project should be complete by March 2012.
