DOD Alternative Fuels: Policy, Initiatives and Legislative Activity
Abstract
This report provides background information and identifies issues for Congress regarding Department of Defense (DOD) alternative fuel initiatives, a subject of debate at congressional hearings on DOD s proposed FY2013 budget. The services (the Army, Navy, and Air Force) have spent approximately $48 million on alternative fuels, and the Navy has proposed a $170 million investment in biofuel production capacity. By comparison, DOD purchases of petroleum fuels totaled approximately $17.3 billion in FY2011. DOD officials have said that any alternative fuels for DOD operational use must: be drop-in; that is, requiring no modification to existing engines; be cost-competitive with conventional petroleum fuels; be derived from a non-food crop feedstock; and have lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions less than or equal to conventional petroleum fuels. Each military service has different alternative fuel goals. The Army has the broad aim of increasing the use of renewable energy, but has not adopted any specific alternative fuel goals. The Air Force goals are to test and certify all aircraft and systems on a 50:50 alternative fuel blend by 2012, and to be prepared to acquire 50% of the Air Force s domestic aviation fuel as an alternative fuel blend by 2016. The Navy s goals are to deploy a Great Green Fleet strike group of ships and aircraft running entirely on alternative fuel blends by 2016 and to meet 50% of the Navy's total energy consumption from alternative sources by 2020. To meet this goal for its ships, the Navy would need to replace approximately 8 million barrels of petroleum used in its ships with unblended alternative fuels by 2020. Under the authority of the Defense Production Act, the Navy has also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture to promote the development of a domestic advanced biofuel industry through the construction of domestic biofuel plants and refineries.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 14, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA584678
Entities
People
- Katherine Blakeley
Organizations
- Library of Congress