Navy Secretary Ray Mabus’ vision of a more fuel-efficient force marked a milestone in January when the service deployed its so-called Great Green Fleet. The dream of the Great Green Fleet came to life as the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis left on its latest deployment, with five biofuel-powered ships alongside for the first time.
The destroyers Stockdale, Chung Hoon and William P. Lawrence, along with the cruiser Mobile Bay and the fast combat support ship Rainier, are all running off a biofuel blend made from tallow, or rendered beef fat, Navy spokesman Lt. Chika Onyekanne told Navy Times.
The Guardian reports that Mabus and agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack inspected the carrier group’s ships on Wednesday off San Diego, where the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the USS John C Stennis and the guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale were preparing for a seven-month deployment. The Stockdale and three other ships are the first to begin operating regularly with a blend of biofuels and petroleum.
“It gives us a strategic advantage,” Mabus said of the navy weaning off fossil fuel. Turning to alternative energy will give the military options so it is no longer at the mercy of fluctuating oil prices and oil-producing nations that may not have US interests in mind, he said.
Vilsack called the navy’s “green fleet” a “tremendous opportunity” for the biofuel industry that will benefit farmers and create thousands of jobs.
The 10 percent biofuel, 90 percent petroleum blend can be used by ships without any change to equipment or procedure. However, it’s a step down from the 50-50 goal that Mabus set for the Navy’s ashore and afloat operations in 2009.
The Navy has tested a 50-50 blend, which fueled the Nimitz strike group and its aircraft during the first Great Green Fleet demonstration at the 2012 Rim of the Pacific Exercise, a mix of fossil fuel, algae oil and waste cooking oil.
The tallow biofuel, however, is a cost-competitive option that fulfills the Navy’s mandate from Congress to purchase the fuels at prices comparable to traditional petroleum.
The program is available to help agencies defray costs of domestically-made blends containing 10 to 15 percent biofuel.
Also read related article: Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of Agriculture launch Great Green Fleet
