A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report criticizes some U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) efforts on the financing of renewable energy projects. According to the report, some guidance issued by DOD, the Department of Energy and various military services may be inconsistent and subject to different interpretations, in part, because DOD has not issued overarching guidance on selecting renewable energy projects.  

GAO recommends that the secretary of defense direct the establishment of comprehensive guidance that would ensure a good “business case” can be made for each renewable project and that the costs and benefits of different financing approaches have been thoroughly analyzed. The report also recommends that DOD develop a Web-based information sharing platform to ensure that officials in various military services have access to “best practices and lessons that other installations have learned from their experiences in financing their renewable energy projects.” The report notes that DOD generally concurred with GAO’s recommendations.