If you need to know why the U.S. military is committed to developing renewable fuels, from the top brass to the pilots of MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, you need to read this article on the Great Green Fleet by Julia Whitty at Climate Desk.
Ms. Whitty gives a comprehensive rundown of why the Department of Defense needs advanced biofuels and the past role the military has played in energy technology transitions. If you think biofuels don’t have a chance, you need to read about this history alone.
Some choice highlights:
- The Navy’s Great White Fleet is a prime example of military technology transitions providing a basis for U.S. industrial leadership: “It was the first ever armada of coal-powered steam battleships built entirely of steel — the product of years of government subsidies paying three times the market rate to develop a fledgling American steel industry,” writes Ms. Whitty.
- On those skeptical about the military’s judgement when it comes to adopting new energy technologies: “Every single time there were naysayers,” [US Navy] Secretary Mabus has said. “And every single time those naysayers have been wrong.”
- “Already, since the Navy starting buying biofuels in 2009, the price per gallon has dropped by more than half.”
The entire article is necessary reading for anybody that wants to understand why biofuels are important and how the transition to using them on a commercials scale is well under way.