Not Easy Being Green

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) is openly doubting that the Navy's plan to use biofuels will help the service save money in the long term. In a July 24 letter to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, Inhofe requests a detailed report on the total cost of a recent event highlighting the Navy's great "Green Fleet" and expressed concern for the cost of "greening" the U.S. military at a time of drastic budget cuts:

While I continue to support the development and use of all alternative fuels, I have grave concerns about the cost of "greening" our military and the overall impact on our readiness.

It has been reported that the Navy spent $12 Million for 450,000 gallons of biofuel which equals approximately $27 a gallon. When added to an additional 450,000 gallons of traditional fuel, the cost per gallon is reduced to $15 a gallon, still over three times the cost of traditional fuel. Over the last three years we have seen the budget of the Navy drastically reduced, but yet the Navy can spend $13.5 Million on fuel that should have cost only $4.5 Million.

Consequently, Inhofe wants the Navy to submit a report on how much it cost the service to transport and use biofuels during the most recent Rim of the Pacific multinational naval exercise.

"I have long been a proponent of an all-of-the-above strategy on energy development," the senator writes, adding: "This strategy not only requires harvesting our resources from above the ground but below it as well. Requiring the Navy to spend exorbitant amounts of an already stretched budget on alternative fuels is impacting out near- and long-term readiness. It is our duty top efficiently and wisely use the limited resources at our disposal to provide for the defense of this great nation."