The 2nd International Forum on Energy, titled “Toward a Secure Energy Supply in a Net Zero-Emission Society,” was held at Palazzo Aeronautica.”
On the 12th to 14th September, at the request of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Champaign, IL – USA and the U.S. Air Force Office of Energy Assurance, the Italian Air Force hosted the 2nd International Forum entitled at the Auditorium of Palazzo Aeronautica “Towards a Secure Energy Supply in a Net Zero-Emission Society”, organised by the Task Force for the “Property Valuation, Energy and the Environment” from the Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with the Infrastructure Service of the Air Force Logistics Command.
The International Forum, whose first edition took place in Frankfurt, Germany, last January, set out to share strategies and experiences gained in Energy sector among the Armed Forces of allied Countries in order to guarantee Security and the Energy resilience of its military installations, contributing to decarbonisation of the infrastructure heritage in use, in harmony with the policies environmental climate change mitigation by the countries and local communities in which they are located.
The three days of presentations and panels were introduced by Air Force Logistic Commander, Air Squad General Roberto Comelli while thanking, also on behalf of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the organisers and participants, highlighted the urgency of confronting our planet's climate crisis, stressing that this challenge requires collaboration, innovation and unconditional dedication among all stakeholders public and private entities involved, and that an international Forum of such importance is the ideal place to collectively address environmental and energy security issues, identifying the most suitable solutions, using available resources.
It Brigadier General Michele Caccamo, Director of the Task Force for the Valorisation of Real Estate, Energy and Environment of the Ministry of Defence, He spoke to illustrate the Dicastery's current commitment in the energy sector, highlighting the role and objectives of the Task Force. Describing the peculiar aspects of the military energy sector, he pointed out how the Defence's environmental and energy policy is increasingly focused on energy efficiency, security of supply, and the reduction of its footprint environmental.
Over the three days of the Forum, more than 150 top experts in the energy sector from both the US Defence and European Allied Countries, technical personnel operating in the energy sector of the various Armed Forces, the Directorate of Works and Assets, and the Energy Services Manager, as well as the main Italian and foreign economic operators in the production, distribution, and management of energy for real estate portfolios, met to discuss and develop the best strategies and technical and administrative solutions to support the necessary efforts to combat climate change and guarantee a secure and environmentally friendly energy supply for a future zero-emission society.
In this context, the Air Force's Infrastructure Service, already fully involved in the energy sector as Leader del Working Group “Infrastructure & Estates” of the International Programme “Global Air Forces Climate Change Collaboration, actively participated in the Forum with several presentations, including the decarbonisation energy strategy for the Italian Air Force's property portfolio presented by Brigadier General Stefano Cimichella, the pilot project relating to the self-production of energy from renewable sources for the energy independence of Amendola Air Base presented by Major Lorenzo Culla, the innovative joint forces project called Smart Military District Castro Pretorio, presented by Colonel Mauro Cassata and Lieutenant Colonel Francesco Fiore, and the project SEDA (Smart Energy Deployable Airfield) relating to the creation of infrastructural assets projectable in out-of-area operations with energy self-sufficiency, presented by Lt. Col. Sebastiano Palermo.
Dr. Ing. Alexander Zhivov, moderator of the Forum and world-renowned research engineer in the energy sector United States Army Corps of Engineers, demonstrating vivid appreciation for how the Air Force is addressing the decarbonisation of its infrastructure, thanked them for the support provided to the event and the excellent hospitality, stressing how the Forum had fully achieved its set objective of bringing together, in such an international context, all stakeholders operating in the military installations energy sector in Europe, to discuss the medium-to-long-term strategies being implemented by various countries, to jointly evaluate the most advanced technological solutions being implemented for energy security and resilience, and to share examples of Best practices of the various Departments of Defence, university institutions and industry to support the achievement of the set decarbonisation objectives.
