21 December 2011
Biofuels and the U.S. Navy’s ‘Great Green Fleet’

On the orders of President Theodore Roosevelt, from December 16, 1907, to February 2, 1909, two squadrons of naval vessels circumnavigated the globe in a display of the United States’ growing naval power, and consequential increased global influence. This action, taken by what was known as the “Great White Fleet” would serve as a precursor to decades of political and military dominance by the United States on the world stage.
Today, the need for a powerful naval force has never been greater, and with constant innovation, the United States Navy continues to be a world leader in the pursuit of freedom and all those who threaten it. This continued dominance is achieved through perpetual increases in technology, not only in weaponry, but in the means of powering our fleet — from coal, to steam, to nuclear power, the development and advancement of fuels has been closely tied to the larger abilities of the U.S. naval force.
A recent undertaking by the Department of Defense, however, raises questions as to whether the military’s commitment to innovation may be endangered by political pandering — especially in the face of the announcements earlier this year that 3,000 sailors nationwide, approximately one out of every one hundred people in the force overall, will be forced to leave the Navy. The creation of a so-called “Great Green Fleet,” a series of improvements designed to make the military more “eco-friendly,” seems a contradiction in the face of increased Department of Defense cuts (a possible trillion dollars over the next ten years).
According to Wired’s Danger Room, the 450,000 gallons of biofuel that constitute the first stage of the transition to a “green” fleet will cost more than $12 million, a relatively small amount as far as Defense expenditures go. When compared with conventional fuels, however, the cost differential raises serious concerns about the long-term utility of the program. According to Wired:
The Navy previously paid about $1,000 for each barrel of biofuel it bought to test out in its jets. This new purchase, at first, will cost just as much: $26 per gallon, or $1,092 per barrel. That biofuel will then be blended with an equal amount of fossil fuel, producing 900,000 gallons — and an effective price of about $15 per gallon for that 50/50 blend. It’s “roughly half of what was paid in 2009,” according to Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy Tom Hicks, who serves as Mabus’ point man on energy issues. But it is still far more than the Navy currently pays for its JP-5 jet fuel: $3.97 per gallon, or $167 per barrel.
The United States military, the Navy in particular, holds the same symbolism that it did in 1907. It is a beacon of hope for those oppressed, a shining example of what liberty and democracy can beget. Such a bastion of freedom should not be subject to partisan budget squabbles and political ideological battles. Indeed, the bloated bureaucracy and cronyism that may characterize other sectors of government has no place intruding on the military’s mission of national security and defense.

Source/Author: Andrew Barr