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Champions of Secure Energy

Editor's Note: This blog introduces readers to Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment.

Today in a special White House ceremony, I was privileged to meet, listen to, and help recognize nine individuals from around the nation who are being acknowledged as Champions of Change for Innovations in Renewable Energy.

Among those being recognized is U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Alan Samuels, a Reserve Officer assigned to the Army Reserve Sustainment Command in support of the Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM), a part of the Army Material Command. Samuels deployed to Afghanistan for nine months in support of RDECOM's initiative to stand up a science and technology collaboration and integration center in theater. During his deployment he organized and led efforts for a 1-mega watt micro grid project the Army installed in Bagram. This project reduced power outages by 50 percent and fuel consumption for power generation by over 20 percent.

When not serving as an Active Reserve Officer, Lt. Col. Samuels is a Department of the Army civilian, working as a research chemist studying remote sensing technology at Edgewood Chemical Biological Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Throughout his deployment Samuels continued to work with the Center's Army Science and Technology programs, offering them a "boots on the ground" perspective that allowed them to fine tune the Army's emerging technologies to better meet the needs of our war fighters.

Power and energy are a serious focus of the United States Army. In theater, 70-80 percent of our logistics efforts are focused on moving fuel and water. Fuel and water must be transported by convoys which are often targeted by our adversaries. Any reduction in the amount of fuel we use translates into fewer convoys, and thus fewer lives lost protecting that fuel.

Today, we witnessed firsthand how the military and civilians are working to find better ways for America to manage their power and energy resources. My personal congratulations go to Lt. Col. Samuels, and those who were recognized today as Champions of Change for Innovations in Renewable Energy.

Katherine Hammack is Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment

American Hydropower: Leading the Way Toward a Job-Creating and Clean-Energy Future

Kevin Frank is being recognized as a Champion of Change for his work advancing new ideas that are leading the way to a clean energy future and an economy that’s built to last.

As President and CEO of U.S. operations for one of the world’s leading supplier of hydropower turbines, I understand renewable energy is about more than the electricity that powers homes and businesses; it’s about creating and sustaining American jobs. At Voith Hydro, we are proud to craft the turbines that produce the clean energy our country needs and ignite the creation of thousands of jobs in an environmentally-friendly and sustainable way.

Our facility in York, PA has manufactured hydropower turbines for 135 years. Though hydropower is part of America's power-generation heritage, it is also one of the most innovative industries in today's energy economy.  Recently, the industry has focused on powering the approximately 80,000 dams in the United States that do not have power. It may surprise you to learn that only 3% of the dams in the country actually produce electricity. These dams represent a tremendous opportunity to provide more clean affordable energy across the United States, especially for an industry that prides itself on maximum efficiency.

There is good reason to focus on powering these existing dams. A 2009 study concluded that with the right policies in place, hydropower could provide the country with an additional 60,000 megawatts of electricity while creating an additional 1.4 million cumulative jobs in the U.S. This can be achieved by powering non-powered dams, expanding generation at existing hydroelectric facilities, and increased pumped-storage power plants -- which will contribute increasing renewable energy use across America.