Senator Hassan Calls on Department of Defense to Meet its Renewable Energy Consumption Goals

WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan is calling for answers from the Department of Defense about its progress in meeting its renewable energy consumption goal, seven years after federal law required it to increase its renewable energy consumption to 7.5 percent. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandates that all federal agencies use renewable energy for 7.5 percent of their annual electricity consumption by FY2013, but as of FY2018, the Department of Defense only consumed 5.9% of its energy from renewable energy sources.

You can read the letter the Senator sent to the Department of Defense here.

Senator Hassan is focused on expanding the use of renewable energy in the public and private sector. Senator Hassan recently joined in introducing the Clean Economy Act, which directs the Environmental Protection Agency to use existing authorities to put the country on a pathway to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2050. Senator Hassan has also led bipartisan legislation to expand access to innovative clean energy storage technology and to help lower energy costs for families and reduce carbon emissions by reinstating and strengthening a tax credit for energy efficient home construction and upgrades.

See below for coverage highlights:

E&E News: N.H. Dem questions Pentagon over renewable energy goals

By Bev Banks

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) is asking the Department of Defense to incorporate more renewable sources into its energy usage.

In a letter to Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy Lisa Jung, Hassan questioned the military's progress meeting renewable energy consumption goals as outlined in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

The 2005 law required 7.5% of energy consumption at federal agencies to be from renewable sources by fiscal 2013.

"The Department fell short of this goal with only 5 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources in FY2013," Hassan wrote in the letter.

"Five years later, in FY2018," she said, "renewable energy consumption still only constituted 5.9 percent of total usage."

While DOD has incorporated more renewables on its installations, Hassan wrote, "There is still more to be done."

Hassan's letter included a list of five questions about how and when DOD would meet the 7.5% goal. She requested the department's response by July 10.

###