The impact of using mobile solar systems by the military could be enormous: “A single soldier in Afghanistan uses 22 gallons of fuel a day, and delivering each gallon to the war zone costs between $300 and $400, according to estimates released last year.”

And: “…Amory B. Lovins, chairman and chief scientist at the Rocky Mountain Institute, in Colorado, calculated that a typical Marine Corps combat brigade needs more than a half-million gallons of fuel per day, and much of it is for generators. A single typical 60-kilowatt generator burns 4 to 5 gallons per hour, or $700,000 per year based on an estimated fuel cost of $17.44 per gallon in Afghanistan. Fueling one base’s generators might cost more than $34 million per year.”

Wired reports here on a Marine unit stationed in Afghanistan that’s reporting 90% savings in diesel fuel.

The Army has acquired Pure Power Mobile Solar Microgrid and finds it rugged and powerful, providing up to 12 times the power output of the 300 watt systems identified in these articles..

Read the article here

Read the article here

Read the whole article here

Pure Power, with our Mobile Solar Power Systems, and Military-Grade Mobile Solar Microgrids, as well as other solar applications across the US, and around the world, will benefit from these higher efficiencies, and look forward to mass market release of higher efficiency panels.

As we have written in this space numerous times, one clear and present solution is Pure Power’s Military-Grade Mobile Solar Microgrid.

Shown here is a Military-Grade R10 Microgrid recently delivered to the US Army. With enhanced battery storage, inverter capacity and larger solar panels, the military-grade R10 is but one solution that is already being utilized.

With 6 rugged models in production, including biodiesel and propane hybrid Systems, that produce from 4,000 to 72,000 watts (AC, single phase), Pure Power has the experience and technological knowledge to produce these Systems rapidly.

From the Santa Monica Ice Rink website:

1. Does the Ice Rink use renewable energy?

   To power everything from the rink to the computers, ICE uses a combination of eco-friendly lights, solar power and renewable energy credits. It uses LED and compact fluorescent bulbs throughout the rink area. These use between 20-30% less energy and last 8 to 15 times longer than regular incandescent bulbs! In addition, replacing one single LED or fluorescent bulb for an incandescent one keeps a half-ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere over its lifetime! (View Reference) Using a Mobile Solar Power System, we are making everything but the rink run on the sun. The City of Santa Monica purchases renewable energy credits for all of its operations, and that includes the rink.

The big deal, besides saving fuel, and reducing the toxic emissions and carbon dioxide from diesel fuel – - the really big deal here is SAVING LIVES.

From the article: “…In Iraq and Afghanistan, one Army study found, for every 24 fuel convoys that set out, one soldier or civilian engaged in fuel transport was killed. In the past three months, six Marines have been wounded guarding fuel runs in Afghanistan. ”

Put another way, reducing the need for fuel convoys will save American lives.

Another issue that Pure Power has been espousing for quite some time is the cost of fuel. “Fossil fuel accounts for 30 to 80 percent of the load in convoys into Afghanistan, bringing costs as well as risk. While the military buys gas for just over $1 a gallon, getting that gallon to some forward operating bases costs $400. ”

Check out this important article here, and ask Pure Power about the military-grade Mobile Solar Microgrid, as well as our commercial Mobile Solar Power Systems.

The story was about Pure Power being named a finalist by Opportunity Green for its Green Business Startup
Competition. (Don’t think we won the competition, but it was tremendous to be recognized by Opportunity Green!)

On Friday Pure Power’s VP of Marketing & Sales Christopher Smith presented at the annual conference (which had outgrown its former home at UCLA and was held in the downtown studio where Mad Men is filmed – (no star sightings, though).

The speech was more like a pitch, actually – like all the finalists, Smith had 1 minute 15 seconds to sway the audience, who then cast their votes online. “Like many of you, we’re in the solar business. But mobile solar is sexy…”

Mobile solar is not sexy because of what it does, of course, but what it doesn’t do – - which is to trash our planet. Because Pure Power’s mobile systems are used to replace diesel generators – which produce 22 lbs of carbon dioxide per gallon, PLUS 40 cancer-causing compounds AND soot -  mobile solar is VERY SEXY indeed.

And having worked on 5 features over the past 18 months, Pure Power is definitely ready for our close-up.

To help reduce supply-line fatalities by reducing the amount of diesel fuel needed in these remote locations, Pure Power (www.PurePowerD.com) has developed its first Military-Grade Mobile Solar Microgrid(TM). The first Mobile Solar Microgrid has been delivered.

“As a military unit extends forward, it brings along its power supply which, until today, was a generator that requires diesel fuel,” says Christopher Smith, Vice President of Pure Power, “Day after day that generator needs more fuel, which puts American lives at risk. Our Mobile Solar Microgrid reduces supply line threat because its fuel is sunlight. Not only will this help save lives by reducing logistical load, it is a clear example of how Americans can innovate to achieve security through energy independence.”

The Mobile Solar Microgrid is more powerful than Standard Pure Power Mobile Solar Power Systems developed by Pure Power. It carries 33% more battery storage, 20% more inverter capacity and 10% more solar-intake capacity than Standard Systems.

In addition to the Mobile Solar Microgrid, Pure Power has the biggest fleet of Mobile Solar Power Systems in the US, including the world’s most powerful mobile solar generator: the S-48T, which can provide up to 72,000 Watts of clean quiet solar power.

“The Mobile Solar Microgrid can also be used by emergency first responders on US soil,” says Smith, “and it’s an important earthquake preparedness tool for municipalities, universities and schools.”

(read the release here)