U.S. military in big biofuel buy

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Defense is buying 450,000 gallons of advanced drop-in bio-fuel for use by the Navy, the government's largest single purchase of the fuel.

The Department of the Navy and Department of Agriculture said the Defense Department will buy biofuel made from a blend of non-food waste (used cooking oil) from the Dynamic Fuels LLC, a Louisiana joint-venture of Tyson Foods, Inc., and Syntroleum Corp. It will also buy algae from Solazyme.

The fuel will be used in next summer's Green Strike Group demonstration by the Navy during a Pacific Rim exercise.

The biofuel will be mixed with aviation gas or marine diesel fuel for use in the Green Strike Group demonstration. Since it is a drop-in fuel, there will be no engine modifications for its use.

The Navy said aircraft, such as the F/A-18 and V-22 Osprey, and various other vessels have all undergone gas turbine testing in preparation for the exercise next summer using biofuel.

"This contract clearly demonstrates that we're building momentum for the continued commercialization of advanced, renewable fuels production here in the U.S.," said Andy Rojeski, a management committee member for Dynamic Fuels.

"We believe the federal government's commitment to procure more energy from renewable sources will help make our high performance, environmentally friendly fuel more cost competitive, potentially creating more jobs in the biofuels industry."