Greg Alvarez for Into the Wind the AWEA blog:  Over the last few years, we’ve seen an increasing number of Fortune 500 companies and cities power more of their operations using wind energy. They often cite wind’s low-cost, price stability and pollution-free qualities as driving factors.

Now, a new player has entered the wind market: the U.S. Army.

The U.S. Army has purchased output from both a solar and wind plant in Texas to power about 50 percent of the operations at Fort Hood. The base is the U.S. military’s largest active-duty armored post, impacting more than 140,000 jobs.

Boosting security was one of the main reasons for the move.

“We need to be autonomous,” said Chris Haug, a Fort Hood spokesman. “If the unfortunate thing happened and we were under attack or someone attacked our power grid, you’d certainly want Fort Hood to be able to respond.”

“Clean and reliable renewable energy can help make our military bases stronger, more robust, and more adaptable to the threats of a changing world,” said Mark Goodwin, president and CEO of Apex, which developed the wind and solar installations. “The vision shown here will be increasingly recognized as other bases and branches of our military seek to replicate the economic performance and energy security provided this project.”  Full Article: