Utility and energy companies looking for the next big contract for their renewable energy solutions may be overlooking one of the largest potential clients in the world: the United States Department of Defense. With an annual energy spend of more than $20 billion, the U.S. military is one of the largest power customers around – and the single largest consumer of liquid fuels on the planet.

Many companies have signed lucrative new contracts with the various branches in the past year:

• Lockheed Martin is developing an ocean thermal conversion technology that uses temperature differences between warm surface waters and deep cold water to generate power.
• Boeing is developing an energy efficient solar-electric drone that can stay aloft for several months for reconnaissance and scientific experiments.
• Johnson Controls won a $34 million contract from the Army for solar, wind, and energy management control systems to improve energy efficiency.
• Siemens earned a $16.8 million Army contract to install a solar power system at the White Sands Missile Range.
• SunPowerhas broken ground on a 13.8 megawatt solar photovoltaic power system at the Naval Air Weapons Station in China Lake, California.
• Tiny Arista Power was awarded a contract to continue development of a mobile “Renewable Power Station” that utilizes wind turbines, solar panels, and an on-board battery storage system to provide an “intelligent scalable renewable energy micro-grid” for the U.S. Army.

All branches of the military are looking strongly into biofuels. They can be produced domestically and a reduced dependence on foreign energy sources has been a focus for years. Both the Air Force and the Navy have plans in place to use biofuels for 50% of their vehicles’ energy needs by the year 2020. The opportunity here is heavily weighted in production – more than 336 million gallons of biofuel will be needed by the Navy alone.

The U.S. Department of Defense has a strong commitment to investing in and advancing renewable energy technologies. Companies that can provide solutions to meet the unique niche needs of the military could quickly find themselves on a steep growth curve.