Skip to main content

Pilot program on off-grid tactical power

Division A · Title III: Operation and Maintenance · Subtitle B: Energy and Environment

Plain-language summaryAI

The Department of Defense may start a pilot program to test mobile off-grid power systems that can provide reliable electricity to deployed forces and critical communication units. The program would explore new power generation and battery technologies, test them in challenging conditions, and assess how well they work with secure communications. If the program is carried out, the Department must brief Congress within a year on the technologies tested, the results of operational assessments, and recommendations for wider use.

AI-generated from this section’s text — a quick orientation, not a substitute for the full text below. Not legal advice.

Section Text · Sec. 317.

(a) In general

The Secretary of Defense may establish a pilot program on employing expeditionary off-grid power generation capabilities across the Joint Force.

(b) Requirements

If the Secretary carries out the pilot program authorized in subsection (a), the Secretary shall carry out the following activities under the pilot program:

(1)

The exploration of the research, development, procurement, and operational integration of mobile expeditionary tactical microgrid systems to provide resilient power supply to forward-deployed formations and critical command, control, and communications elements at the tactical edge.

(2)

The incorporation of novel power generation and advanced battery storage that can integrate with secure satellite communications or other mission-essential electronic systems.

(3)

The conduct of operational assessments and testing of systems in conditions that simulate contested logistics and degraded infrastructure.

(c) Report

If the Secretary carries out the pilot program authorized in subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide to the congressional defense committees, not later than one year after the commencement of the pilot program, a briefing on the status and results of the pilot program. The briefing shall include—

(1)

an assessment of the technologies used in the program;

(2)

an overview of the operational assessments and testing of the systems, including system performance; and

(3)

recommendations for fielding across the Joint Force, as appropriate.