Boeing, Siemens Form Strategic Alliance for DOD Energy Modernization

If the post on aging infrastructure, immediately below this one, outlines problems in energy systems deployment and delivery, then this piece by Boeing and Siemens begins to get at potential solutions.  If one is interested in potential, viable, future models of energy delivery systems, then one cannot overlook what is now taking place within the US Department of Defense.  

I have come to the conclusion that as DOD goes, so we all must go in large measure, with regard to energy delivery systems.  What is being discussed here, I believe, is a critical piece of the puzzle of our energy future.

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Source: http://www.boeing.com/Features/2011/08/bds_siemens_08_08_11.html


Alliance will provide secure microgrid management solutions that lower costs and increase efficiency

Boeing and Siemens today announced a strategic alliance for the joint development and marketing of "smart grid" technologies to improve energy access and security for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), the largest energy consumer in the federal government.

The collaboration centers on providing U.S. military installations with secure microgrid management solutions that lower operational costs and increase energy efficiency.

The alliance draws on Boeing's expertise in providing the DOD with complex systems and technologies, and Siemens' industry-leading global energy management capabilities.

The alliance's microgrid management solution will be designed to:

· implement economical energy-efficiency tools that allow for analysis, control and automation of energy processes
· use smart energy controls to provide real-time data to manage energy use
· integrate renewable energy sources and storage.

The Siemens and Boeing alliance brings together the capabilities required of a DOD energy modernization provider, including end-to-end engineering and construction; network and smart grid integration; cybersecurity; energy efficiency; energy management and storage; next-generation alternative energy integration; climate monitoring; and service, training and maintenance.

Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the industry, energy and health care sectors. For more than 160 years, Siemens has built a reputation for leading-edge innovation and the quality of its products, services and solutions. With 405,000 employees in 190 countries, Siemens reported worldwide revenue of $102.9 billion in fiscal 2010. Siemens in the USA reported revenue of $19.9 billion and employs approximately 62,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. For more information on Siemens in the United States, visit www.usa.siemens.com.

Our Infrastructure: Falling Apart and Falling Behind

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The next great challenge, following on the heels of the related issues of Peak Oil and Climate Change, is the issue of infrastructure (rehabilitation, retrofitting, and development).  This relates to what we call "the built environment," specifically.  In the United States, in city after city, on highway after highway, the story is essentially the same.  In short, much of the elaborate infrastructure so painstakingly built up in the 20^th century has been ignored for far too long, and is now starting to fall apart in the 21st.   

It’s all fine and well to have developed alternative sources of energy; but, if we don’t actually have sufficient sources of reliable infrastructure to deliver that energy, we are still in serious trouble.  A chain is only as strong as its weakest link; and the weak link here may actually turn out to be the energy delivery systems we will need in a “resource-constrained future.”     

There’s a world of something in all of this, actually.  In the wake of the recent budget debacle, things don’t just appear to be falling apart in Washington, D.C.  They are now slowly falling apart everywhere—quite literally. 

So, what can we do?  Where should we start?  Check out the above video, to get an idea. 

For further information, check out the following web site: http://www.bafuture.org/.  Then ask yourself, “What can we do and what should we do?”  

Note: There appears to have been a slight typographical error in the above tagline.  It should probably have read "Infrastructure key" (and not "Immigrants key"), as this was the topic of discussion. -- BDP

Source: http://www.bafuture.org/Report

Rebuilding America’s economic foundation is one of the most important missions we face in the 21st century. Our parents and grandparents built America into the world’s leading economic superpower. We have a responsibility to our own children and grandchildren to strengthen—not squander—that inheritance, and to pass on to them a country whose best days are still ahead. Our citizens live in a turbulent, complicated, and competitive world. The worst recession in eighty years cost us trillions in wealth and drove millions of Americans out of their jobs and homes. Even more, it called into question their belief in our system and faith in the way forward.

Our infrastructure—and the good policy making that built it—is a key reason America became an economic superpower. But many of the great decisions which put us on that trajectory are now a half-century old. In the last decade, our global economic competitors have led the way in planning and building the transportation networks of the 21st century. Countries around the world have not only started spending more than the United States does today, but they made those financial commitments—of both public and private dollars—on the basis of 21st-century strategies that will equip them to make commanding strides in economic growth over the next 20-25 years.

Unless we make significant changes in our course and direction, the foreign competition will pass us by, and a real opportunity to restore America’s economic strength will be lost. The American people deserve better.

Falling Apart and Falling Behind lays out the economic challenges posed by our ailing infrastructure, provides a comparative look at the smart investments being made by our international competitors, and suggests a series of recommendations for crafting new innovative transportation policies in the U.S. This report frames the state of our infrastructure in terms of the new economic realities of the 21st-century economy and presents the challenges we currently face.

Energy & Environment Fallout from the Debt Deal (energyNOW!)

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NcpV90o16Ko

When President Obama signed into law a compromise plan to increase the $14.3 trillion U.S. debt ceiling this week, he authorized nearly $2.5 trillion in cuts over the next decade. This massive budget reduction means numerous government agencies and funding programs are the chopping block, but what will it mean for energy and environment funding? energyNOW! interviewed National Journal reporter Coral Davenport to discuss the new reality of environmental and energy-related cuts.

The first round of cuts requires a $917 billion reduction in government spending, and while there are no guarantees on which agencies will be cut, energy and environmental programs will likely be the first to have their funding reduced, especially on issues that have been controversial this year.

"What lawmakers on the hill are already saying, it's very clear, environmental regulations, climate change programs, the kinds of things that have already been hot political targets are clearly going to be subject to the biggest cuts," said Davenport.

The second round of $1.5 trillion reduction in spending, to be decided by Congress this Fall, may result in the repeal of billions in oil and gas tax incentives. With gas prices at extreme highs and oil companies taking in record profits, taxpayers are furious, and the incentives will be among the hottest items going into the debate.

A congressional "super-committee", equally comprised of Democrats and Republicans, will negotiate these cuts, and outcome of which incentives and funding programs are reduced will be decided by which members are appointed to the committee.

"If the Democrats in the committee are of the ilk that have long been crusading for rolling back these oil and tax breaks, they will push as hard as they possibly can," said Davenport. Regardless, they will likely experience strong resistance from Republicans and oil industry lobbyists, as well as the current reluctance to increase taxes.

Energy Innovations in the Armed Forces

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYxO4pFofPU


The sun is a big part of the Air Force and Army's plans for alternative fuels. In "Energy Innovations in the Armed Forces," Correspondent Lee Patrick Sullivan learns how the Air Force is using the largest solar array in the Western Hemisphere to help reach a 20 percent renewable-energy goal by 2020. Lee Patrick dons full battle gear to find out why soldiers are replacing heavy batteries and generators with smaller, lighter ones. He also takes a ride in a prototype extended range electric vehicle and unrolls a "solar blanket" for charging electronics in a war zone.

Cynthia Lundgren of the Army Research Laboratory in Maryland explains how advanced battery research is helping reduce the number of generators and batteries that units need to take into battle. Paul Skalny of the Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center tells Lee Patrick how hybrid electric vehicles can give U.S. forces an advantage in the field, and how many fewer lives are put at risk with each incremental increase in fuel efficiency.

"Learn to Teach Earth as a System" (from NASA)

The following piece, posted to my Twitter account, comes from NASA:   http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/learn-to-teach-earth.html#.Tjb6O_eyypI.twitter.

I believe that this could a "partial" solution to the piece immediately below this one, on teaching and training new generations of students for uncertain times.   When we understand systems, we can discern patterns (or potential patterns).   When we can discern patterns, we are better equipped to manage uncertainty.  


There is a lot of rich educational material on the NASA web site, which I believe will have increasing relevance for this site.  This following is but one example.  I will elaborate upon this theme in upcoming posts.  


Blaine 


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In April 2001, a typhoon churned up a dust storm in China that sent dust as far as the Great Lakes and Maryland. Image Credit: NASA


Learn to Teach Earth as a System


A dust storm from China brings an increased risk for asthma sufferers in the western United States. Melting polar ice threatens sea levels high enough to submerge an island nation along the equator. And a cyclical decrease in solar energy can temporarily offset the warming influence of greenhouse gases. 

These are just a few examples of how what happens in one part of the world or solar system can affect places and people far away and how interwoven Earth's various components really are. Understanding the connections among the planet's spheres -- biosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere -- is crucial to preparing today's students to meet the challenges of our complex and constantly changing environment.

The Earth System Science Education Alliance -- sponsored by the National Science Foundation and NASA and administered by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies -- supports a network of more than 40 educational institutions across the country in offering a series of semester-long, online Earth system science courses for K-12 and informal educators. More than 3,000 teachers have completed an ESSEA course since the program's inception in 2000.

ESSEA participants earn undergraduate or graduate credit while learning to teach Earth system science using inquiry-based classroom methods. Learning modules used in the courses are available to anyone through the ESSEA website. Each module starts with a scenario (text and images) that sets the stage for investigation of an Earth science topic. Many of the modules incorporate problem-based learning.

New modules are added regularly with examples including:

• Dust World: Dust may be one of the least understood aspects of Earth's atmosphere. Yet a dust storm on one side of the globe can travel to and affect areas on the opposite side. The impacts on weather, climate and health can range from a decrease in hurricanes to increased reports of asthma.
• Sea Level Change/Coastal Inundation: More than half of the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of the coast. Climate change is expected to produce differing amounts of sea level rise in different locations around the world, with hard-to-predict consequences for coastal communities and economies.
• Sunspots: Sunspot activity waxes and wanes with a maximum occurring, on average, every 11 years. When sunspot numbers are low, the amount of solar energy reaching Earth is reduced, which could result in a temporary cooling effect.

Sample investigations for varying grade levels are provided within each module, as are links to related resources and a listing of national science education standards addressed by the module. A series of modules geared toward grades K-4 teachers explore the different parts of the Earth system -- air, land, water and life -- from a general, polar, climate and oceans perspective.

"Studying Earth and global climate change is similar to putting together a jigsaw puzzle. The more we look at the planet in terms of interactions among its different components, the better we understand how all the pieces fit together," said Bob Myers, principal investigator for ESSEA. "The ESSEA courses and modules allow teachers and their students to take a critical look at potential threats to Earth's health from a systems perspective, and to grow in the critical thinking skills needed to become environmentally literate citizens."   [Emphasis added]

Course offerings, modules and additional information are available at http://essea.strategies.org   →