July 5, 2007:
You probably
don't notice that you never hear about an American fuel convoy being blown up
in Iraq. The reason is that these are the best guarded convoys, and rarely get
attacked, much less hit. But since about two-thirds of convoys are carrying
fuel, this is a huge diversion of resources. Combat commanders have done the
math, and with more combat units out and about these days, they are demanding
more solar panels and fuel cells, in order to lower the demand for generator
fuel. With all those computers and electronic gadgets out there, the demand for
electricity, especially by units in combat, is huge. If each combat battalion
can get by with one, or more, fewer fuel convoys a month, that means more troop
support from helicopter gunships and UAVs. Moreover, the cost of protecting
those fuel convoys makes solar-panel juice cost about the same as the
conventional generator electricity.