NATO tankers torched in Pakistan

[Vikrant]

(CNN) -- Armed militants torched two tankers carrying fuel for NATO troops through southwest Pakistan's volatile Balochistan province, police said.
While no one was injured in this attack, two other attacks nearby left four dead.
In the Khuzdar district of Balochistan, militants shot at the tankers transporting fuel to U.S. and allied troops in an attempt to stop them, police official Mir Hassan told CNN.
"The drivers narrowly escaped the attack and managed to flee from the tankers," Hassan said.
The oil tankers had left from Karachi, the Arabian Sea city that is Pakistan's most populated, and was heading toward Afghanistan when it came under attack.
Meanwhile, two police officers and two civilians died in separate attacks elsewhere in Balochistan.
The civilians were killed when militants fired on their vehicle, said police official Muhammed Tariq.
Gunmen also killed a police officer in the same area, and a police constable died in an armed attack in another town.
There's been no immediate claim responsibility for any of the attacks.

NATO tankers torched in Pakistan; 4 killed in nearby attacks - CNN.com

 

[waltky]

Army converting to solar power in Afghanistan...

Exploding fuel tankers driving US Army to solar power
October 2, 2013 ~ The U.S. Army is spending billions of dollars shifting toward solar energy, recycled water and better-insulated tents. The effort isn’t about saving the Earth.

Instead, commanders have found they can save lives through energy conservation. It’s especially true in Afghanistan, where protecting fuel convoys is one of the most dangerous jobs, with one casualty for every 24 missions in some years. With renewable energy, “there is no supply chain vulnerability, there are no commodity costs and there’s a lower chance of disruption,” Richard Kidd, the deputy assistant secretary of the Army in charge of energy security, said in an interview. “A fuel tanker can be shot at and blown up. The sun’s rays will still be there.”

While President Barack Obama called on the U.S. government to cut greenhouse-gas emissions 28 percent by 2020, the Army is embracing renewables to make the business of war safer for soldiers. In May, it announced plans to spend $7 billion buying electricity generated by solar, wind, geothermal and biomass projects over the next three decades. The transition is a sales opportunity for companies including Lockheed Martin Corp., which is installing small-scale power systems at U.S. bases, along with Alta Devices Inc. and Sundial Capital Partners, which make sun-powered systems. The moves threaten U.S. utilities, which stand to lose revenue when the Army shifts to photovoltaic panels from traditional power sources.

Soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team learn about solar panels and generators during a training rotation at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany

Changing Operations

“We’ve changed the way we fight, but have we changed the way we resupply and conduct operations?” said Brandon Bloodworth, president of Barbaricum, a Washington-based military consultant. “That’s where we need to change.” Renewable-energy projects in the U.S. are mainly financed by third parties and probably won’t be affected by the government shutdown that’s idled as many as 800,000 federal employees. Members of the armed forces will continue to get paid during the shutdown.

The remarks from Kidd and military colleagues illuminate the Army’s effort to become a “net zero” power user, producing as much electricity as it consumes worldwide. The Army’s target is to install 1 gigawatt of renewable capacity by 2025 in the U.S. and to reduce non-tactical fuel consumption 30 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels. A gigawatt is about the same capacity as a new nuclear reactor has. Renewables are reaching to the last stops on the Army’s supply lines, including such far-flung bases as Command Outpost Giro in Afghanistan’s Ghazni Province. The site at one point didn’t have enough capacity and tapped Humvees for some power. The makeshift setup required soldiers to drive the vehicles around in the middle of the night to recharge the batteries.

Sleeping Better