Navy to launch carrier group powered by biofuels

SAN DIEGO — The Navy is launching a carrier strike group to be powered partly by biofuel, calling it a milestone toward easing the military’s reliance on foreign oil.

The maritime branch is touting the warships as the centerpiece of its “Great Green Fleet.” Most of the group’s ships will be run for now on a mix of 90 percent petroleum and only 10 percent biofuels, though that could change in the future. The Navy originally aimed for a 50-50 ratio.

On Wednesday, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stood on a pier at the North Island naval base in San Diego Bay where the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Stennis and the guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale were preparing for a seven-month deployment. The Stockdale will be the first Navy ship to regularly run on alternative fuel.

“It gives us a strategic advantage,” Mabus said of the Navy weaning off fossil fuel and increasing the use of alternative energy.

Vilsack called the Navy’s “Green Fleet” a “tremendous opportunity” for the biofuel industry that will benefit farmers and rural America.

The officials then boarded a helicopter to watch the USS William P. Lawrence replenish its tanks with a blend of biofuel made by AltAir Fuels from beef fat.

Critics, including environmentalists, say biofuel production is too costly and on a large scale may do more harm than good.

Mabus contends, however, that going green is not just about reducing the Navy’s carbon footprint.

“In 2010, we were losing too many Marines in convoys carrying fossil fuels to outposts in Afghanistan, and the prohibitive cost of oil was requiring us to stop training at home in order to keep steaming abroad, a dangerous and unsustainable scenario,” he said in a statement.

The Navy is aiming to draw half its power from alternative energy sources by 2020 so ships can refuel less often, stay out at sea longer and no longer be at the mercy of fluctuating oil prices and oil-producing nations, which may not all have U.S. interests in mind, Mabus said. The federal government has invested more than $500 million into drop-in biofuels, which can be used without reconfiguring engines.

The fleet also includes nuclear vessels, hybrid electric ships and aircraft powered partly by biofuels.

Vilsack, speaking in Ohio about the rural economy Friday, said the Navy’s efforts offer a huge market opportunity for the biofuel industry. The Defense Department uses 90 percent of the energy consumed by the federal government, spending billions of dollars annually on petroleum fuels to support military operations.

The Navy bought 77 million gallons of the 10 percent biofuel mix at $2.05 a gallon to fuel its ships off the West Coast this year. Similar contracts are in the works to fuel ships elsewhere.

The purchase comes after a 2012 demonstration on the Navy’s use of alternative fuels drew fire from lawmakers outraged at the $26-per-gallon price tag. Legislators passed a law prohibiting the Pentagon from buying biofuels in mass unless the price is competitive with that of petroleum.

Retired Navy Capt. Todd “Ike” Keifer, who has published a study on the Navy’s plan, said he does not believe the Navy will ever get “any meaningful quantities of cost-competitive biofuels.”

“Biofuels sound good, but it turns out that making carbohydrates (biomass) into hydrocarbons (ideal fuels) is a very laborious and wasteful process that is far more costly and much harder on the environment than producing fossil fuels,” he said.

Environmental scientist Jesse Ausubel, at The Rockefeller University in New York City, said biofuels are renewable but not green since they require so much land, fertilizer, pesticide and fuel to produce them.

“There are many ways that the fleet could become truly greener — through more efficient propulsion, for example,” Ausubel wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

All military branches are looking to cut their ties to foreign oil as part of a national security strategy. Since 2008, the Navy has cut oil consumption by 15 percent and the Marine Corps has reduced it by 60 percent.

In 2009, the Navy commissioned its first hybrid ship, the USS Makin Island. The ship’s hybrid-electric drive has enabled it to stay out three times longer between refueling than on petroleum alone, and it spent half its normal fuel budget on its first deployment, Mabus said. LED lighting, stern flaps and hull coatings have also helped other ships cut their energy use.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Cassie Franklin, Mayor of Everett, delivers the annual state of the city address Thursday morning in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Everett, Washington on March 31, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
At Everett mayor’s keynote speech: $35 entry, Boeing sponsorship

The city won’t make any money from the event, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said. Still, it’s part of a trend making open government advocates wary.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.