Image: www.freefoto.com
Ever since Don Quixote tilted at wind mills, warfare and renewable energy have had a rough relationship. It's tough to erect wind turbines or solar panels when the enemy keeps blowing things up. Still, Lt. Col. Brian Stevens of the Texas Army National Guard is determined to try. Stevens leads a group of 66 soldiers who want to help bring sustainable agriculture and renewable energy to rural Afghanistan. A self described military brat who "grew up all over the world," Stevens is in the Energy Executives Leadership Program, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Energy Execs are leaders who want to learn about renewable energy to help guide the future energy decisions of their companies, organizations or communities. This year, 20 Energy Execs gather at NREL once a month for energy education sessions.
"There's no national power grid in Afghanistan," Stevens said during a break in the education sessions. "Power is generated where it's needed, usually using a diesel generator." In this photo, an Afghan elder with a gray beard talks to three American soldiers on a dusty gravel road, while a U.S. military truck appears in the background atop a hill. Stevens hopes to change that, knowing that the task is formidable. "There's a little bit of micro-hydro power, a little bit of wind, a little bit of solar already in Afghanistan, built by Coalition units, the Afghan government, and non-government organizations," Stevens said. "Unfortunately it's usually not very sustainable by the Afghan government. In most cases, they don't have the trained people, the supplies or the means to continue the operations. As soon as the sponsors pull away, the installations typically don't survive very long.
Education Key to Sustaining Renewable Projects
"Any projects that we would build directly would become lucrative targets of the Taliban," said Stevens, who enlisted in the Army as a young man, served eight years, got a college education and has been with the Texas National Guard for more than 20 years.
So, instead of immediately erecting devices that will catch the wind or the sun's rays, his National Guard unit will focus on education and how to integrate these capabilities into the agricultural sector.
"We're hoping to work with the Afghan government to implement a curriculum at the college, then build a demonstration plant that the university would own," Stevens said. "They could use it as a hands-on solar and wind power learning experience. That way you'd have educated young people able to sustain projects and build bigger projects down the road, while they also develop suppliers and experience."
The Taliban and Al Qaeda can blow up things and chase the population away, but "they can't take that knowledge out of their heads," Stevens said. "Eventually, they'll get some traction out of that."
Stevens has worked on rebuilding projects before in Iraq and Afghanistan, as a civil affairs officer and adviser. He thinks the technical knowledge he learns at Energy Execs will help his newest idea succeed.
"The folks we've met at NREL, to a person, are remarkably enthusiastic and excited about what they're doing," Stevens said. "That optimism and enthusiasm ... you can see that, too, in a successful military unit."
He's already learned that NREL, Stanford University and some other partners have put together curriculum packages for renewable energy. "We're looking to see how it can translate over in Afghanistan," he said.
His unit wants to improve refrigeration in arid, temperate Afghanistan. It won't be refrigeration like Americans know the term. "It will still be in cellar-type rooms underground," he said. "We'll be applying some dehumidification techniques and some minor cooling. That's about the most we'll be able to hope for."
"We'll also try to work with the Afghan government and universities to teach and train more efficient irrigation techniques," Stevens said. "Renewable energy will be a component of that."
Making the Most of Windy Months, Sunny Months
So far, the most successful renewable energy program in Afghanistan has used micro-hydro, generating power from the substantial spring melt off of snow running down the mountains.
Afghanistan has a four-month windy season in the spring, the same time of year when micro-hydro has the greatest potential. In the summer, it gets hot and dry in many places, ideal for generating solar energy.
"I don't know yet how we sustain it in the winter, when they get cold, snow and more cloud cover," Stevens said.
"But we have a great, great team, super motivated, almost all of them volunteers, from security guys to agricultural experts, to mechanical engineers and leadership," Stevens said of his Army National Guard command.
"Everything we do will be with and through the Afghan government," Stevens emphasized. "If we help them develop an increasing capacity to supply services to the people, it increases their legitimacy and allows them to continue to lead."
Stevens said the West has made several mistakes in Afghanistan over several decades, often by "applying a western solution to the problem. We fix it and then we walk away. It's not something they can maintain."
The university in his province has a partnership with Texas A&M University. "Hopefully, that will impel relationships that endure beyond us," he said.
Still, "In Afghanistan, even the easy stuff is hard, politically complicated," Stevens said. "And you have the Taliban and anti-government forces. Some of them are just criminals, opportunists wanting to get their cut. So they don't want to see this (reconstruction success) happen.
"But the Afghan people by and large are awesome. There is the extreme element in every country. But most of the Afghan people want the same things we do - security, drinking water, they want their kids to be able to go to school. There is an element that wants to establish a functional government, and an extremist element that wants power and control to further their objectives. We want to help empower the government to increase its ability to provide reliable security and services to the people. By doing this, we can help protect the Afghan people and prevent the extremists from attacking our country again.
"Generally, the Afghans are great people, very hospitable and gracious. They just don't have many of the great opportunities that we have, yet."
Learn more about NREL's Executive Energy Leadership Program.
Source: NREL, Image: Freefoto.com
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