The US Navy says it wants to operate all of its aircraft carrier based combat aircraft on biofuels by 2016, according to a report in US blog ‘DOD Buzz’.
The plan, called the ‘Great Green Fleet’, would see all the carriers powered by nuclear energy and ships systems by biofuel generators, and all aircraft operating on biofuels instead of traditional jet fuel. The change will reportedly improve the fuel efficiency of an F/A-18 jet engine by up to three per cent, leading not only to greater range but also to a saving of up to 127,000 barrels of fuel fleet wide per year.
The move is part of a Navy initiative to restructure the way it awards industry contracts. “We’re going to hold industry contractually accountable for meeting energy targets and system efficiency requirements,” said Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in a speech to the Naval Energy Forum. “We’ll also use the overall energy efficiency and the energy footprint of a competing company as an additional factor in acquisition decisions.”
