The Department of Defense (DOD) is asking companies to present proposals for supplying 200 million gallons of alternative or synthetic fuel in expectation of major field tests of vehicles and vessels by the Air Force and Navy in 2008 and 2009. The field tests are part of a broader endeavor by the Pentagon to reduce its reliance on foreign oil with cleaner-burning fuels that would reduce its greenhouse gas productions.

The switch by the DOD from conservative fuels to alternative fuels is one that experts have seen coming for years. The DOD is probably the biggest motor vehicle fleet in the United States and with the government being concerned about gas prices as well as environmental problems, having the DOD go to alternative fuel for its vehicles is a great move on their part.

This demand from the DOD could really help the regular consumer as it will boost production of alternative fuels and possibly bring them into the broad market as a possible alternative to gasoline. Nevertheless, the request could have a major impact on the alternative fuels market if the military decides to move forward following the tests since the Pentagon is the single largest buyer of fuel in the country.

Under the potential purchase, the Air Force and Navy through the DOD would each receive 100 million gallons of alternative fuels for testing on ships, airplanes and other operational units. Those fuels would likely be blended with existing DOD fuel types in a 50/50 mixture or similar ratio.

There won’t be enough alternative fuels to do a 100 percent alternative blend for no less than a decade according to the DOD. But even reducing petroleum usage by 50 percent in this country is huge. What the DOD is saying is that they don’t want carbon dioxide greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere and they want to do everything they can to alleviate that problem.

Each of the military services wants to maintain its present single-fuel policy, under which all vehicles are run with as similar a fuel type as possible. DOD officers want to use 50/50 alternative fuel/gasoline blends widely for the service tests at first, with an eye to potentially retooling the ratio for optimal efficiency later on. But that may be a problem as many engines will have to be adapted to accommodate the alternative fuel and burn it correctly.

With the DOD coming on board in the push to make alternative fuel less alternative, we may be seeing a real switch when it comes to fueling our means of transportations. It could be very advantageous to many people including the Earth’s population.


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