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Military plans for alternative fuels criticized
A man fills his tank at a biofuel station in Germany. The German government recently canceled plans to double the amount of ethanol to 10% in gasoline sold nationwide.
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Kai Ryssdal: The Pentagon's has been trying to wean itself off petroleum for years now, experimenting with biofuels as a way to save money and lives, since fuel convoys have become tempting targets. But a report from the think tank RAND says nice dream -- it's not perhaps so realistic.
From the Marketplace Sustainability Desk, Eve Troeh reports.
Eve Troeh: The RAND corporation says the military is spending too much time and money on biofuel research, especially for technologies that it says are nowhere near ready. Jim Bartis led the RAND study.
Jim Bartis: You know there's no doubt the stuff is technically possible. The question is can you do it for any reasonable price?
He points to a Navy program that run ships on a fuel that comes from algae.
Bartis: They had to pay $424 a gallon.
He says biofuel research might be more efficient, and get to the mass market faster, if left entirely to the Department of Energy.
But Nathanael Greene at the Natural Resources Defense Council says the military prides itself on pushing energy innovation beyond current market interests.
Nathanael Greene: Their interests are more than just front line security. They're really part of protecting our national interest and that definitely means moving away from petroleum.
The Navy has been particularly outspoken about the value of its biofuels program. It says RAND's estimates of the cost and viability of certain technologies are not in line with its own research.
Joel Makower is executive editor of GreenBiz.com. He says many biofuel producers have organized their research and development to suit the military's efforts. If Congress does cut defense spending on biofuels, would it mean some companies disappear?
Joel Makower: Probably not, but it'll definitely slow down, not just the development of the company, but the development of the technology.
He says it's not just the military's money, but its highest standards' stamp of approval that could move biofuels more quickly into the mainstream.
I'm Eve Troeh for Marketplace.
Try hemp seed oil as a bio diesel fuel. Industrial hemp produces bio-diesel which has 118,000 btu of energy per gallon as compared to 112,000 for gasoline and 75,000 for ethanol. Hemp can be grown in poorer soil and in more varied geographies than the other seed oil crops and needs less soil preparation and fertilizer. It produces twice the oil per acre as other seed oil crops such as canola. It also makes a good cooking oil rich with Omega fatty acids. Seeds could be harvested from wild hemp found in the deployment area, or from confiscated drug crops making the source close to the area where it is needed. The fuel is cold pressed out of the seeds meaning more simple, basic and transportable equipment can be used to produce the fuel near the deployment area. And the rest of the plant can be donated to the local peoples as a source of food fiber and industrial fiber. Local peoples could be hired to grow the hemp, industrial type, not the stoning type, taking the place of drug crops and providing an atmosphere of cooperation and goodwill to the local population.
