Biofuel companies to power US military

Companies are being invited to compete for a $30million biofuels initiative which it is hoped can help reduce dependence on oil for the US military. The money is being provided to invest in commercial scale fuels easily substitutable with current jet fuel and diesel. President Obama has pledged to reduce oil imports by a third by 2025 and last year pledged half a billion dollars towards that goal.

The Department of Energy has also announced further funding of $32million for research and development of biofuels, with $20million of this to support pilot projects producing jet and diesel fuel substitutes and the rest of the money for research into processing of synthetic biofuels.

The military have been pushing for the use of green fuels for some time now, with a Naval six week operation called the ‘great green fleet’ being launched last week. Republicans have been highly critical however, highlighting the far greater cost of biofuels at the current time.

The criticism does not take into account the long term view however. Ray Mabus, secretary of the Navy says, "Our reliance on foreign oil is a significant military vulnerability and it would be irresponsible not to address it. Pursuing a viable, domestic alternative is the best way to preserve the budget for operational necessities like training and shipbuilding, and this funding opportunity is an important step in accelerating an economically self-sufficient alternative fuels market."

It seems that the predominant reason for the switch to biofuels lays in the question of fuel security, rather than greenhouse gas reductions. First generation biofuels are suspected to emit as much, if not more, greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuels, according to some scientists. It is hoped that new second generation fuels could change this balance in favour of biofuels.