Military Plans Tests in Search for an Alternative to Oil-Based Fuel
That’s a lot of fuel! I wonder how the military use of fuel compares with the rest of the country. While it’s not exactly moving to greener energy, it is moving towards less dependence on foreign oil. Which can only be a good thing, even though they’re doing this as a political maneuver. It’s not like they have to worry about where the money is coming from.
Military Plans Tests in Search for an Alternative to Oil-Based Fuel - New York Times
In a series of tests — first on engines mounted on blocks and then with B-52’s in flight — the Air Force will try to prove that the American military can fly its aircraft by blending traditional crude oil-based jet fuel with a synthetic liquid made first from natural gas, and, eventually, from coal, which is plentiful and cheaper.
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The Air Force consumed 3.2 billion gallons of aviation fuel in fiscal year 2005, which was 52.5 percent of all fossil fuel used by the government, Pentagon statistics show. The total Air Force bill for jet fuel last year topped $4.7 billion.
Although the share of national energy consumption by the federal government and military is just 1.7 percent, every increase of $10 per barrel of oil drives up Air Force fuel costs by $600 million per year.
Mr. Aimone said that if the synthetic blend worked, plans call for increasing its use in Air Force planes to 100 million gallons in the next two years.
