Navy’s Green Fleet Runs Into Fiscal Storm (Algae Based Bio-Fuels Cost 4X More Than Petroleum Fuels)

San Diego U-T ^ | June 9, 2012 | Jeanette Steele

[DogByte6RER]

Navy’s green fleet runs into fiscal storm

Demo still on for next month, includes San Diego ship

Republicans in Congress are blocking the Navy’s march toward a future in which jets and ships run on biofuels, saying the “green” most in question is whether the United States has the money, with a shrinking military budget, to invest in a pricey fuel experiment.

The Navy will demonstrate its “great green fleet” concept next month, a toe in the water toward easing the country away from dependence on unfriendly foreign oil. But opposition in Congress could push the effort onto the rocks after that.

Both houses of Congress last month put language in the 2013 defense bill that would block the Pentagon from buying biofuels if they cost more than traditional petroleum.

The vote split mostly along party lines, with Republicans, including San Diego County Rep. Duncan Hunter, saying that proposed massive cuts to defense spending leave no room for anything but essentials.

“We’ll need to learn to do much more with much less. Experimenting with biofuels at such a significant cost to taxpayers will not put the military on better footing or increase effectiveness, next to other investments that are much higher on the priority list,” said Joe Kasper, Hunter’s spokesman.

The Navy, which sees its green initiative as a strategic move away from reliance on expensive Persian Gulf oil, spent $13.7 million on fuel made from used cooking oil and algae, blended with petroleum, for its upcoming green fleet voyage on July 18 and 19.

It was the biggest alternative fuel purchase ever for the U.S. government — 200,000 gallons of jet fuel and 700,000 gallons of ship diesel.

But it might also be the most expensive, costing nearly four times as much as traditional petroleum.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Thanks for explaining the situation in #20. When I first heard of the Navy using biofuels, I thought, wtf?

[devolve]

OBAMA THE BIOFOOL

Obama replaces $4/gallon petroleum fuel:

US NAVY $44/gallon BIOFOOL

US AIR FORCE $59/gallon BIOFOOL