Air Force Convenes Experts to Secure Supply of Renewable Fuels
Brian Bender writing for the Boston Globe reports that the Air Force, the single-largest user of fossil fuels in the federal government, convened leading scientists, researchers, and energy specialists yesterday to explore ways to wean its fleet off fossil fuels. The goal: make the service less vulnerable to shortages and encourage wider commercial use of alternative energy sources. A small corrollary, the branch spends nearly a third of its $9 billion annual energy budget on jet fuel.
As outlined in the Air Force’s recently published energy plan, it seeks to cut its petroleum-based jet fuel demand by half in the U.S. by 2016. To meet this goal, Air Force officials are enlisted the help of private companies, universities, and other government agencies.
The Air Force has taken steps to test cleaner-burning fuels for its range of aircraft (see Novel Intel: Air Force Camelina Flight Test Marks Milestone). Tests include fuels made from animal fats and Camelina. The low-toxicity fuel has been certified for almost every Air Force aircraft, while the others are in the process of being certified for safety and reliability by the Air Force’s Alternative Fuels Testing Office, a $200 million operation begun in 2007 at Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Ohio. The Air Force is also working with the Army and Navy to certify the alternative fuels, which are mixed with conventional jet fuel.
The necessary Air Force and private company partnerships needed to develop the supply of alternative fuels is a bit of a chicken or egg. While the ultimate success of reducing the amount of conventional fuel used depends on the emergence of more private companies willing to manufacture the fuels, companies need to be convinced that the US military is serious about reducing its reliance on oil. That assurance could spark the necessary investments in new technologies or refineries that might be needed to support them writes Bender.
Currently, the cost of alternative fuels is a major impediment to their widespread adoption. Though as oil prices climb, aviation biofuels will see a widening market share.
Read more on the Air Force’s efforts to stimulate the production of alternative fuels.
Image: Flickr/irene.
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