SPIA Lecture to Highlight U.S. Navy Energy Efficiency Strides

Contact: Peter Fandel, (207) 581-1835 or Jim Settele, (207) 581-3153

ORONO — The University of Maine School of International Affairs has invited the chief of staff for the U.S. Navy’s Energy and Environmental Readiness Division to present and discuss steps the Navy is taking to utilize more efficient alternative energy sources for newly designed equipment.

Jason Greenawalt is responsible for development and oversight of the Navy’s energy and environmental policies and protecting Navy’s interest against incompatible commercial development that could affect training and military readiness. He manages a staff of more than 50 civilian and military personnel.

His talk, “Navy Initiatives, Challenges and Successes: Leading the Nation toward an Energy Secure Future,” Thursday, April 21 at 2:30 p.m. in Little Hall, Room 130 is free and open to the public.

Greenawalt’s leadership in crafting and executing a $4 billion energy strategy is credited with making the Navy a driver of innovation in the private sector and an advocate for and early adaptor of game-changing energy efficiency technologies. Those improvements enhance Navy’s combat capabilities, reduce long-term costs, and provide an off-ramp to dependence on conventional fuels sources. Greenawalt also is responsible for managing the Navy’s environmental protection program, ensuring that operations afloat and ashore protect the natural environment while supporting the Navy’s national defense mission.

Among the Navy’s energy goals are:

– To demonstrate a Green Strike Group in local operations by 2012 and sail it by 2016 with nuclear ships, surface combatants using biofuels with hybrid electric power systems and aircraft flying on biofuels;
– By 2020, to Department of Navy produce at least 50 percent offshore-based energy requirements from alternative sources, utilizing solar, wind, ocean and geothermal energy sources;
– And by 2020, to see that 50 percent of total Navy energy consumption comes from alternative sources.

Greenawalt graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in history from Campbell University. He also holds a master’s in public policy (budget and finance) from George Washington University and is a 2008 graduate of the Elliot School of International Affairs DoD Senior Management Course in National Security Studies. In 2010, he received the Navy Meritorious Civil Service Medal.

For more information call (207) 581-1835, or visit the website www.spia.umaine.edu. SPIA lectures are free and open to the public.