Republicans Blowing up Military’s Plans for Alternative Energy; Democrats Fighting Back
by Troy Hooper (The Colorado Independent) …House Republicans passed a pair of provisions Friday that would stymie the military’s efforts to incorporate more renewable fuels into its supplies. The defense authorization bill now heads for a markup in the Senate Armed Services Committee, where Democrats are preparing to go to battle.
“Continued reliance on foreign oil puts U.S. troops at unnecessary risk on and off the battlefield,” reads a letter written last week from Sens. Mark Udall, D-Colo., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Mark Begich, D-Alaska, to Navy Admiral Jonathan Greenert soliciting his opinion on the House’s actions.
…In response, Admiral Greenert wrote back (pdf) this week, saying attempts to obstruct the military’s transition to alternative fuels “will impede America’s energy security.” He referenced a May 16 statement from his superiors that lamented the House provisions would affect the Department of Defense’s “ability to procure alternative fuels and would further increase American reliance on fossil fuels, thereby contributing to geopolitical instability and endangering” U.S. interests abroad.
… “Energy security requires assured access to a reliable, secure, and affordable supply of energy for Navy missions today and in the future. To this end, the Navy has been researching alternative liquid fuels for operational use since 2003 in ‘full transparency with Congress. While the Navy does not intend to purchase alternative liquid fuels for operational use until they are price competitive with petroleum.-based fuels, the Navy needs flexibility to continue the testing and certification of all potential alternative fuel pathways to ensure the Navy has an ‘off-ramp’ from conventional fuel sources.” READ MORE and MORE (Energy Digital) and MORE (Detroit News) and MORE (Grist) and MORE (FuelFix) and MORE (Renewable Energy World)
