Defense Bill May Make or Break Military Biofuels Initiative; Thousands of New Jobs May Be At Stake

A recent report finds that, with a relatively modest investment by the Defense Department, more than $10 billion in overall economic activity could be stimulated in the advanced biofuels sector and more than 14,000 jobs created across the country. And, the military would reduce its exposure to potential petroleum supply disruptions and volatile global petroleum prices.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (H.R. 4310) is one of several "must pass" pieces of legislation awaiting Senate action in this lame duck session. In a close vote in the Senate Armed Services Committee last July, the Committee amended the bill "to include a provision that would prohibit the use of funds authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Defense in FY 2013 from being obligated or expended for the production or sole purchase of an alternative fuel if the cost exceeds the cost of traditional fossil fuels used for the same purpose, except for continued testing purposes." For additional background, see our previous SBFF post "Will the Department of Defense Help Open the Way to Next Generation Biofuels?" The bill may come to the floor as early as the week of November 26.

Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Mark Udall (D-CO) have been circulating a letter urging the Senate to amend the bill to remove these restrictions. Thirty-eight senators have signed on so far.

On November 14, Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) released a report, The Economic Benefits of Military Biofuels , which examines the potential impacts of the Defense Department’s advanced biofuels initiative. In an accompanying press release , E2 summarized the report’s findings, saying:

" The military’s plans to expand its use of biofuels in planes, ships and other vehicles would generate at least about $10 billion in economic activity and create more than 14,000 jobs by 2020, according to a report commissioned by Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). Just as importantly, if the Department of Defense is able to expand its use of advanced biofuels like it has said it wants to do, it would jump-start the biofuel market, which in turn would speed adoption of biofuel by commercial airlines, vehicle fleets and other users, according to the report. Led by the Navy and Air Force, the Department of Defense wants to reduce its dependence on oil by getting as much as 50 percent of its fuel from biofuels by 2020. DoD’s top leaders have said reducing the military’s use of oil is essential to national security, troop safety and avoiding fuel price spikes. "