NEWS WRAP

Another Bolton bombshell

• A leak of former National Security Advisor John Bolton's forthcoming book has given pause to Republicans considering blocking witness testimony from the Senate impeachment trial. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly told colleagues he lacks the votes to block witnesses from the trial following the revelations. The New York Times reports that the book details a conversation Bolton had with President Trump in which the president unequivocally linked the freezing military aid to Ukraine with the pursuit of evidence and investigations relating to political opponents. READ MORE HERE
   

• Less than a week out from the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses, Bernie Sanders has established a firm lead in the state polls despite having to sit through the Senate impeachment trial in Washington. But polling in caucus states is notoriously difficult given the complicated system involving thresholds, second preferences and self-reporting. USSC Senior Lecturer David Smith wrote a piece for The Conversation explaining the history, method and controversy of the Democratic primary process. READ MORE HERE
   
• The United States has airlifted 240 citizens out of the city at the epicentre of the Coronavirus outbreak in China. The plane is expected to touch down in California on Wednesday, where it will be met by a fleet of ambulances and health professionals. A Japanese chartered plane has already evacuated 200 of its citizens from the locked-down Wuhan province. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Australia and New Zealand will also undertake a joint operation to evacuate their respective citizens stranded in the region. Chinese authorities have now reported almost 6,000 cases of the virus and over 130 fatalities. READ MORE HERE 
   
• The US Supreme Court has upheld a Trump administration policy allowing the means testing of prospective immigrants. According to the administration, the 'public charge' test is designed to ensure that those entering the country will be self-sufficient and not reliant on public assistance programs like food stamps and Medicaid. Critics argue these rules will disproportionately target poor, non-white immigrants. READ MORE HERE
   
• Tributes are flowing for NBA legend Kobe Bryant who died in a California helicopter crash that also claimed the lives of his 13-year-old daughter and seven others. Bryant played for 20 seasons in the NBA during which he won five championships with the LA Lakers, was an 18-time NBA All-Star and led the league in scoring on two occasions. In 2018, he also won an Oscar for the short film 'Dear Basketball', which was based on an open letter he wrote about his retirement. Authorities are investigating why the helicopter was cleared to take off in foggy conditions. READ MORE HERE

ANALYSIS

Little green army men: Renewable energy and the DoD

Harris Wohl
Research Intern, Foreign Policy and Defence Program

Throughout his campaign and presidency, President Trump has vowed to save the coal sector from a demise that seems to be inching closer every year.

Economic considerations, however, have diverged from the president’s agenda. On average, costs to generate energy from wind have fallen 69 per cent since 2009, and solar generation costs have decreased by 88 per cent. During the same time period, the cost of coal generation has stayed relatively stagnant and only fallen 8 per cent. A decade ago, switching to renewable energy usually meant taking a financial hit in order to make a political statement. But today, governments, businesses, and homes are switching to renewables purely as a cost-cutting measure.

The Pentagon appears to be no exception to this. As an organisation that spent $3.5 billion in 2017 to provide electricity to its bases and facilities, the Department of Defense (DoD) is open to cost-cutting measures notwithstanding the political implications. The US military budget is already overstretched with lofty goals in the Indo-Pacific and costly engagements in the Middle East. The success of these engagements is partially hampered by the high costs of providing electricity to military installations.

In the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, DoD was tasked with producing 25 per cent of its total facility energy use from renewable sources by 2025. As of 2018, they were on track to meet this goal, producing 15.76 per cent from renewables. This success is due, in part, to bases like Fort Hood in semi-arid Texas. Fort Hood was a prime location to test the effectiveness of large-scale solar production on the site of one of the largest military installations in the country. By 2017, Fort Hood was home to 63,000 solar panels, as well as 21 off-base wind turbines. The Army estimates the transition to renewable energy will end up saving the base over $100 million over the next thirty years. Further investment across DoD could save billions in the long-term.

Energy companies are already partnering with the federal government in this area. SunPower will have installed 100 megawatts of solar power at 33 federal government sites within the next few years while Southern Company has already installed 400 megawatts of solar at 14 military installations, with eight more on the way. As the military continues to work with the private sector to build renewable sources into its energy supply, these industries scale so that solar and wind become cheaper to produce, lowering costs for consumers and businesses throughout the country.

Beyond cost-cutting, the Pentagon is also concerned with energy resilience, or maintaining operations during events that disrupt the supply of energy. In 2017, DoD reported 1,205 utility outages that lasted eight hours or longer.  More often than not, an outage like this meant relying on aging diesel backup generators to power everything from hospitals to mission-critical command and control centres. Bases currently rely on commercial grids and are located in remote areas. These military installations could become more resilient by adopting on-site renewable energy infrastructure.

But implementing on-site renewable energy infrastructure still has challenges. Without energy storage, large-scale renewable projects would be unable to supply energy to a base in the event of an outage. Bases would need storage mechanisms like lithium-ion batteries. DoD has already experimented with microgrids, which are a mechanism that allows a base to operate as a closed system, consuming energy produced on-site without first sending it to the commercial grid but it is still early days. As important as cost-saving is, further investment – particularly in microgrid technologies or storage mechanisms – is imperative if the Department of Defense hopes to reap the full benefits of renewable energy sources.

EVENT

2020 Vision: What to expect from the United States this year

One year from this month, a newly elected president will take office in Washington, DC. The long and intense competition leading to that day begins on 3 February 2020, with the Iowa Caucuses, the first nominating contest in the Democratic Party’s primaries for the 2020 presidential election.

What are Trump’s chances of re-election? Which Democratic challenger is likely to be Trump’s opponent in November? What impact will renewed tensions in the Middle East have on the election, and what are the implications for Australia? And what will be the trajectory of rivalry between China and the United States in this election year?

To hear more on these issues, please join us for the first in a series of public events on the 2020 US presidential election by the US Studies Centre.

The panel will feature analysis by USSC experts:

• Simon Jackman, CEO and Professor of Political Science
• Kim Hoggard, Non-Resident Fellow and former staffer for President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush 
• Brendon O’Connor, Associate Professor in American Politics and author of Anti-Americanism and American Exceptionalism
• Ashley Townshend, Director of Foreign Policy and Defence at the United States Studies Centre 

DATE & TIME
30 January 2020
6.00pm–8.00pm

LOCATION
Harbourside Room,
Level 6, Museum of Contemporary Art,
The Rocks

COST
$25 General Admission (selling fast)

VIDEO

Dear Basketball

THE WEEK IN TWEETS

#SpaceShuttleChallenger