Agreement strengthens energy resilience of U.S. military installations and critical electric infrastructure

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On September 28, 2020 the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Defense for Sustainment (OASD(S)) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a framework to collaborate and partner on efforts related to energy resilience and the protection of military installations and defense critical electric infrastructure (DCEI).

“We must anticipate attacks and mitigate risks to our critical defense, government, and economic infrastructure,” said Bruce Walker, Assistant Secretary for Electricity, DOE. “In this environment, maintaining secure access to energy resources is critical to the energy resilience and the protection of DCEI.”

“The variety and velocity of global threats continues to rapidly evolve,” said W. Jordan Gillis, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment, DoD. “This partnership will ensure secure access to energy resources, and improve the energy resilience and readiness of our military installations.”

Through the MOU, the departments will explore partnerships under several initiatives. They will look to develop joint pilot projects to advance energy resilience technologies. The partnership will look to establish forums with utility providers, energy service companies, and industry to improve the prioritization of DCEI and military installations by leveraging existing authorities and relationships. Finally, the departments will take advantage of the technical strengths of DOE national labs and DoD Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs). 

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