United States soldiers on surveillance and reconnaissance missions may soon find themselves with a new asset to power their equipment: solar energy. The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC) has been investigating the feasibility of using renewable energy as a means of providing power to battlefield equipment used by individual soldiers.

At a Baltimore symposium on upcoming military equipment, CERDEC released details of a system that is already being assessed for its usefulness, the Rucksack Enhanced Portable Power System (REPPS). The REPPS would reduce the amount of batteries and other charging equipment needed to power surveillance devices by integrating solar panels, connectors, and adapters to charge standard U.S. Military batteries, and can even be chained together in series in order to provide power to devices that use larger amounts of energy. Additionally, the REPPS would allow soldiers using battery-powered equipment to operate independently of vehicles or command centers with generators.

In its first incarnation, the REPPS was originally a simple solar photovoltaic panel that could be carried into the field to power small devices. However, in recent years CERDEC has improved upon the initial design in order to anticipate the changing needs of military missions. In addition to powering U.S. Military batteries, adapters have been created to work with standard NATO equipment, and also include a cigarette lighter and AC/DC adapters.

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 725 REPPS units are slated to be delivered to soldiers in Afghanistan, and initial reports of their use in the field have been favorable.