As Alternative Energy Africa highlighted renewable energy endeavors by the US Marine Corp in
Spending nearly a third of its annual budget on jet fuel, the military branch is looking to cut its amount of petroleum-based jet fuel in half by 2016. The Air Force has taken steps to test cleaner-burning fuels for its range of aircraft, including a combination of coal, natural gas, and refinery byproducts that make a low-toxicity alternative fuel first demonstrated in South Africa.
“The program is starting to gather momentum,’’ said Jeff Braun, the office director.
The ultimate success of reducing the amount of conventional fuel used, however, depends on the emergence of more private companies who are willing to manufacture these fuels, he said. Companies need to be convinced that the US military is serious about reducing its reliance on oil. That could spark the necessary investments in new technologies or refineries that might be needed to support them. Some of the alternative fuels cost up to $50 a gallon, far more than gasoline-based jet fuel, because there is little market for them. “This is a big concern,’’ said Tim Edwards, a chemical engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate. “We have to generate interest in industry,’’ added Braun.
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