Great Green Fleece: Air Force Spends $59 Per Gallon for Biofuel

The U.S. Air Force spent $59 per gallon on biofuels for a demonstration last month intended to show the promise of the alternative energy source. That’s more than double what the U.S. Navy spent as part of its so-called Great Green Fleet demonstration. The total cost for the 11,000 gallons of synthetic jet fuel from Gevo Inc., a Colorado-based company, amounts to $639,000. For its demonstration, Navy officials spent $12 million on 450,000 gallons of fuel, or approximately $26 a gallon. Combining the fuel with petroleum in a 50-50 mixture reduces the cost per gallon to around $15, more than four times the cost of petroleum alone. The company providing the Navy’s biofuel, Solazyme, was a recipient of stimulus grant funding. The report from Reuters also indicated that among Gevo’s financial backers is Vinod Khosla, a venture capitalist whose firm owns 27 percent of the company. Reuters noted that Khosla has donated overwhelmingly to Democratic candidates in recent elections...more