UPI reports:
A U.S. group of wind technology contractors have separately been contracted by the U.S. Army for locally generated, renewable and alternative energy.
Under a Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOC) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, Ala., (in conjunction with the Army Energy Initiatives Task Force) the companies are eligible to compete for task orders to provide renewable energy to Department of Defense facilities.
Severe funding problems affecting training and deployment. Staff reductions and they have money for less efficient energy? Note, Obama is attempting to reduce the planned pay raise for service members from 1.8% to 1% and he has money to pay off companies that supported his election?
Unless you are going to use a blend, such as B15, so the switch to 100% diesel can be done without notice, I’m not aware of any advantage. Separate fuel tanks and dual logistical requirements don’t do much for easing deployment. If you have the extra money in the budget for the more expensive fuel and want to go toodling around the base with green energy, no problem. Biodiesel is a much more variable fuel and comes with a number of handling and use issues.
If the US Army started to use birds for target practice the screams of outrage would echo from California to New York.
But mash thousands of birds and bats with wind turbines and they get praise from environmentalists.
There’s a military use for alternative energy that takes strain off of fuels during deployments. That’s about all I can say for such an idea.
This will probably work out about as well as the Navy’s biofuels initiative, “the Great Green Fleet”, which spent $26 a gallon on biofuels.