(MultiService.com) Advanced biofuels are gaining popularity throughout the United States thanks to their financial and environmental benefits. Domestic biofuels can especially benefit the Department of Defense, which uses a substantial amount of fuel each year. The Advanced Biofuels Association recently
military policy
Back TO HOME#GreatGreenFleet: SECNAV, CNO Visit Nimitz For Great Green Fleet Demonstration
by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan A. Colon (USS Nimitz Public Affairs/America's Navy) The Secretary of the Navy, the honorable Ray Mabus, and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, visited the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) for
July 20, 2012 Read Full Article
Senators Gird for Fight over U.S. Navy's 'Green Fleet'
by Roberta Rampton and Susan Cornwell (Reuters) U.S. senators who support the Pentagon's push to expand its use of biofuels said they have a plan to answer critics who argue the fuel is far too expensive to help develop at a
July 19, 2012 Read Full Article
Push in Congress to Ban Biofuels in Military Has Big Long-Term Costs
by Norman Seip (Christian Science Monitor) The US armed services is working hard to wean itself off of fossil fuels and foreign oil. Yet some in Congress, for short-term savings, want to ban them from purchasing biofuels. Cutting investments in
July 19, 2012 Read Full Article
The Navy’s Green Strike Group Sails on Biofuels Blend: Will It Sail Again?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As the Pacific-based forces of Can-Do battle the Washington-based forces of Shouldn’t-Try, we look at the 6 Big Myths of Military Biofuels In Hawaii, the US Navy demonstrated its Green Strike Group as part of the 2012 Rim
July 19, 2012 Read Full Article
RAND Says US Military Cannot Reduce Biofuels Price; Should Exit Development; BIO Disagrees
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, a new study by the RAND Corporation says that the US military’s petroleum demand of 340,000 barrels per day, compared to global demand of 87 million barrels per day, isn’t large enough of
July 18, 2012 Read Full Article
Ads Hit GOP Lawmakers for Opposing Navy Biofuels
by Jeremy Herb (The Hill/Defcon Hill) A liberal-leaning national security group has a six-figure ad campaign attacking four Republicans, including potential vice presidential pick Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), over their opposition to the
July 18, 2012 Read Full Article
Pentagon Biofuels Effort Aids Energy Independence
By Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) (Politico) It’s disappointing that Congress may try to second-guess the Pentagon’s attempts to tackle one big problem: our dependence on foreign oil. Without changes to the new National Defense Authorization
July 17, 2012 Read Full Article
White House Official: Congress 'Short-Sighted' on Biofuels
by Zack Coleman (The Hill/E2Wire) Congress “needs to get beyond short-sightism” that is stunting investment in and handcuffing Defense Department use of biofuels, a senior White House energy official said Wednesday at a conference in Washington, D.C. Heather Zichal, the White
July 17, 2012 Read Full Article
The Obama Plan for Cost-Competitive, Military Biofuels: The 10-Minute Guide
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The Obama Administration has laid out an integrated strategy for commercializing advanced biofuels, with a focus in this phase on military advanced biofuels at cost-competitive prices with conventional fuels. The vehicle is a joint program between
July 03, 2012 Read Full Article
Insiders Support Military’s Renewable-Energy Push
by Sara Sorcher (National Journal) Nearly two-thirds of National Journal’s National Security Insiders agree with the military’s push for renewable energy, siding with the Obama administration over some Republicans in Congress who have charged that the Defense Department should not spend
June 05, 2012 Read Full Article
Short-Term Politics Stifles Pentagon's Green Energy Ambitions
by Jen Alic (OilPrice.com) The US Defense Department consumes more energy than any other department or sector in the country, spending around $20 billion annually by some estimates; but ambitious plans to make it the nation’s green leader have been
May 30, 2012 Read Full Article
Wait’ll Next Year: Advanced Biofuels and the Military
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In Washington, heartbreak came early in the season when the Senate Armed Services Committee has voted to nix the purchase of aviation biofuels, should they cost more than conventional fossil fuels, even at the small
May 29, 2012 Read Full Article
US Warplanes Can Fly Faster, Carry Additional Weapons Load Using Advanced Fuels and Biofuels: New Data
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) New tests conducted at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base have revealed that US warplanes are capable of flying faster and carry more payload on missions, when flying with synthetic fuels, including biofuels, compared to conventional military
May 25, 2012 Read Full Article
Groups Ask Senate to Reconsider NDAA Amendments Blocking Military Use of Alternative Energy
(BusinessWire) The Advanced Biofuels Association, the Algal Biomass Organization, Airlines for America, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, Growth Energy, and the Pew Charitable Trusts today expressed disappointment that the Senate Armed Services Committee adopted amendments to
May 24, 2012 Read Full Article
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
May 23, 2012 Read Full Article
Increasing Our National Security with New Technology
by Retired Lt. Gen. John Castellaw, USMC, American Security Project (The Hill/Congress Blog) The United States military is the single largest purchaser of petroleum fuel in the world, burning through about 325,000 barrels of fuel per day. Almost all of
May 07, 2012 Read Full Article
Algal Biomass Organization Briefing on Industry Accomplishments and Policy Needs
by Josh Rathod (Advanced Biofuels USA) As host of an annual legislative hearing on Capitol Hill, the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) used this year’s presentation on March 1st to give a clear outline of where the industry stands on reaching
March 12, 2012 Read Full Article
Va. Congressman Questions Navy's Ability to "Go Green" versus High Cost
by Mike Gooding (WVEC.com) ... Fourth district congressman Randy Forbes is challenging the Navy which is making a priority out of going green. House Armed Services Committee member Randy Forbes had harsh words for Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, saying he was focusing
March 01, 2012 Read Full Article
Navy Energy Director Speaks on US Need for Global Biofuels
by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine) The military has been especially active in the push to develop biobased jet fuel, but the U.S. Department of Defense’s interest in biomass-based energy sources is not limited to biofuels. Biomass-based power is also part
November 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Pew Charitable Trusts Releases Report on Department of Defense Renewable and Alternative Energy Programs
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Today Phyllis Cuttino, director of Pew’s Clean Energy Program, joined by John Warner, former five-term U.S. Senator from Virginia and senior policy adviser to the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate; Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, assistant
September 21, 2011 Read Full Article
The Green Strike Group: The Fuels, The Force, The Skinny
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Tactically, a Green Strike Group, powered by renewable diesel-electric engines, nuclear power and aviation biofuels, is able to operate independent of fossil fuel supply line threat or disruption. In the near term, this is
September 13, 2011 Read Full Article
ABO Responds to USDA/DOE/Navy Biofuels Investment Promise
(Algae Industry Magazine) The Algal Biomass Organization has voiced its opinion of the US government’s recently announced $510 million biofuels investment commitment over the next three years. Following is their statement: Late last month, three federal departments came together to
September 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels Propel Blue Angels Over Labor Day Weekend
by Leon Kaye (TriplePundit.com) ...This year, the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the long-form name for the Blue Angels, wowed visitors with their pilots’ stunts at the Patuxent Naval Air Station in southern Maryland over the weekend. Only this time, the weekend
September 06, 2011 Read Full Article
The True Cost of the Military's Oil Addiction
(CNN Money) Among the many incentives pushing the military to use less oil, reducing the number of casualties it takes to protect vulnerable fuel convoys is one of the most important. 1 in 8 soldiers killed or wounded in Iraq in
August 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels USA Is Disappointed in White House Plan for National Security Drop-In Biofuels Investment
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) As a tie-in to President Obama’s current bus tour promoting his job creation plans, the White House has issued a press release promoting a three-year $510 million dollar plan to fund “drop-in” biofuel
August 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Energy Concerns Could Make Panetta First Green DOD Chief
by Annie Snider (New York Times/Greenwire) When Leon Panetta was sworn in this morning as the 23rd secretary of Defense, he inherited a force that is more fuel-dependent than ever -- a fact that those inside the Pentagon increasingly say
July 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Led By DoD, Federal Government Hoping To Fund Biorefineries
by Yuliya Chernova (Wall Street Journal) The Department of Defense, an emerging market force in biofuels, is working on a new program to finance non-petroleum fuel production, in collaboration with the departments of energy and agriculture, according to people familiar
July 01, 2011 Read Full Article
House Armed Services Committee OK’s “Filthy Fuels” in New DOD Budget Bill
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the House Armed Services Committee OK’d a defense budget bill that exempted the Department of Defense from Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act, which had since 2007 required that fuels purchased
May 16, 2011 Read Full Article
USArmy Corps of Engineers Releases Benchmarks to Meet Energy and Sustainability Goals
(US Army Corps of Engineers) Today, (April 19, 2011) the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released, for the first time, its fiscal year 2010 scorecard on sustainability and energy performance. Using this scorecard as a benchmark, the USACE will identify
April 20, 2011 Read Full Article
US Navy Spartan Energy Ethos Means Biofuels (Four Commercial-Scale Biorefineries) and Energy Efficiency for the Fleet and the Country. For How Long? In Perpetuity ...
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) On April 12th at the Navy League’s 2011 Sea-Air-Space Exposition, the leaders of the US Navy’s 50% petroleum reduction by 2020 program honed in on what it means for the Navy and for
April 14, 2011 Read Full Article
The Great Green Fleet
by James Marvin (The Virginia Pilot) ...Off the capes of Virginia, a modern Navy swift boat cuts a wake at more than 50 miles per hour on fuel made from algae and petroleum. High over Maryland's Patuxent River, a Navy
March 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Marines Trying to Get Afghan Farmers Hooked on Energy Crops
by Annie Snider (Greenwire/New York Times) ...Nelson, who has already served two tours in Iraq, spent this past winter tinkering with combinations of cottonseed oil and JP-8, the military's universal fuel, to find a blend that works best in
March 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Global Realities
by General K. Wesley Clark (Ret.) (Growth Energy/Biofuels Digest) ...(E)very Administration has warned of America’s addiction to foreign oil but none has dealt successfully with it. ... And today we are paying the price. We have seen our military presence in the
March 07, 2011 Read Full Article
INTERVIEW-Mideast Unrest Shows Need for Alternative Fuels-Mabus
by Andrea Shalal-Esa (Reuters) Oil price rises spurred by spreading unrest in the Middle East underscore why the U.S. military should reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, said U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. Every $10 increase in the price of a
February 24, 2011 Read Full Article
RAND Study Says Advanced Biofuels Offer No Direct Military Benefit
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...We hereby sentence the authors to a one-year subscription to Biofuels Digest. We continue to sound the alarm on “studies” that are, in essence, reviews of peer-reviewed literature reviews and interviews with secondary sources. It’s the