The United States military is dead serious about being able to fly its combat and cargo planes on jet fuel derived from algae and plants, and to power many of its warships on biodiesel from used cooking oil and non-food-grade animal fats.
The home-grown biofuel program, which has been under way for several years, is part of a broader strategy to increase US military fuel security and reduce reliance on foreign oil by raising energy efficiency levels in the armed forces and finding cost-effective alternatives to fuel refined from oil.
To demonstrate the strides made, the US Navy says it will deploy a ''green strike group'' when the US and partner navies gather later this year for the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, the world's largest international maritime manoeuvres. The last RIMPAC in June and July 2010 in the central Pacific off Hawaii brought together units and personnel from 14 countries, including Australia. It involved 32 surface ships, five submarines, over 170 aircraft and 20,000 service men and women.
This time, planes on the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, along with two escorting destroyers and a cruiser, will run on a 50-50 blend of biofuel and regular petroleum fuel during the sea exercises.
''We think that this represents a major step in energy independence for the US,'' said Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, when he announced the move last month. He added that it was also a step towards ''reducing our dependence on unstable sources of foreign energy, as well as reducing the budget shocks that come with buying fuel from potentially or actually unstable'' countries.
The Navy plans to follow the RIMPAC demonstration by sending a carrier group on a multi-month deployment in 2016 using 50 per cent biofuel for surface ships and aircraft. Dubbed the Great Green Fleet, after the famous Great White Fleet that the US sent around the world in the early 1900s to vaunt its growing military power, the long-haul despatch is intended to underscore the Navy's determination to cut its oil use in half by 2025.
The US Air Force, the Pentagon's biggest jet fuel user, is certifying fighters, bombers and cargo jets to run on a 50 per cent biofuel mix. It aims to switch half of the continental US jet fuel requirements to alternative fuels by 2016.
Combat and non-combat vehicles are next in line for biofuels and increased efficiency. The US military is also introducing solar power in place of diesel generators to provide electricity at its bases at home and abroad The stated aim is to turn a profligate energy waster into the world's most energy efficient major military force. The task is huge, but so is the patronage and buying power that the military can bring to bear.
The US armed forces guzzle far more petrol, diesel and jet fuel than any other organisation in the world. Three-quarters of the Defence Department's energy use supports military operations at home and in more than 100 countries around the world where US forces are active, including many in Asia and the Pacific. In 2010, the Pentagon used nearly 5 billion gallons of oil-based fuel in military operations.
The bill amounted to $US13.2billion, a 255 per cent rise on 1997 prices.
In 2008, when oil prices reached a record of $US147 a barrel, the US military spend nearly $US20 billion to secure the energy it needed. Every dollar per barrel rise in the oil price adds $US30 million a year to the Navy's budget alone.
One of the most promising biofuel feedstocks of immediate interest to the US military is camelina sativa, an oilseed plant that comes from Europe. It belongs to the mustard family, along with broccoli, cabbage and canola, which yields a widely used cooking oil.
Both US military planes and civilian airliners have made successful test flights using a blend of regular kerosene jet fuel and camelina biofuel. Camelina is now being increasingly widely planted in the US by farmers using genetically engineered high-yield seeds.
It is an attractive crop because of growing demand, low fertiliser and water requirements, and profitable co-products such as camelina meal and biomass as well as biofuel. The plant also grows well in Australia, Canada and Europe. But if camelina is to become a well-established and reliable source of renewable aviation fuel, it will have compete on price with oil-based fuels. It will also have to be grown in commercial-scale quantities for refining.
Whatever the outcome, the US military's search for alternative cost-competitive fuels to oil will continue because enhanced energy security is critical to power projection and military superiority.
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