Biofuel pits SECNAV vs. House Republicans
Source: By Charles Hoskinson, Navy Times • Posted: Monday, May 21, 2012
The Navy this summer plans to sail a carrier strike group powered by a biofuel mix amid efforts by congressional Republicans to cut off funds for Secretary Ray Mabus’ signature initiative.
The cruiser Princeton and destroyers Chafee and Chung-Hoon, along with the aircraft aboard the nuclear-powered Nimitz, will run on a 50/50 blend of diesel and biofuel made from used cooking oil and algae during the biennial Rim of the Pacific exercise June 29-Aug. 3.
The “green strike group” is a precursor to Mabus’ plan to sail a “Great Green Fleet” by 2016 to demonstrate the utility of biofuels for naval operations, then to increase alternative fuels to 50 percent of Navy operations by 2020.
But the high cost of the biofuel — the last purchase worked out to be about $26 a gallon, about five times more than traditional fuel — has prompted Republicans to put the brakes on Mabus’ plans.
Mabus argues that the cost of biofuel already has come down dramatically and will become competitive with traditional fossil fuels as its use becomes more common.
“The Navy can bring a market, and the military can bring a market. And when you have that market … the price gets to be a more stable and market price when it’s a commercial scale,” he told Navy Times in a March 27 interview.
But the GOP-led House on Friday passed legislation that would bar funding for any alternative fuel if the cost exceeds that of a traditional fossil fuel used for the same purpose. However, the legislation would allow the Navy to complete work on its testing of the 50/50 blend planned for use in the strike group.