§2914 Military Construction Projects for Energy Resilience, Energy Security, and Energy Conservation

Summary

The Secretary of Defense may build military projects that improve energy resilience, energy security, or energy conservation using money already available for that purpose. When asking Congress for approval on a Form 1391, the Secretary must give the project title, location, a short description of the work, the original and current cost estimates, and any other useful details. For energy conservation projects, the request must also show the original and current savings-to-investment ratios, simple payback estimates, and measurement-and-verification plans and costs, plus the planned funding source. For energy resilience or security projects, the request must explain how the project will strengthen mission assurance, support mission‑critical functions, and fix known weaknesses. The Secretary may use operation and maintenance funds instead of military construction money if Congress is told first. That notice must be sent electronically to the congressional defense committees, include the current cost estimate, the funding source, and a statement that waiting for construction funds would harm timely energy assurance. Work can start only after a seven-day waiting period from the electronic notice. The most that can be spent this way by a military department in any fiscal year is $100,000,000. Projects can cover activities for utility systems the United States does not own and energy work tied to energy savings performance contracts. Covered projects that connect to the Department of Defense Information Network must include cybersecurity supply-chain risk tools for continuous analysis, monitoring, and mitigation. The Secretary should, when possible, use commercial tools, include existing vulnerability databases, and ensure continuous monitoring. Beginning in fiscal year 2026, any new cybersecurity requirements must be documented in the annual guidance sent with the President’s budget. These rules apply to projects with Form 1391s submitted for the Department of Defense budget for fiscal year 2023 and after.