Navy F-18 passes biofuel test, fails logic test

The Navy just conducted a test that proved two seemingly contradictory concepts. First, it proved that an F-18 can fly using biofuel. And second, it proved that biofuel is an idea that’ll never get off the ground.

National Review’s Planet Gore makes sense of it all:

I was there when the Green Hornet flew today, and the 50-50 biofuel mix burned superbly. Thanks to the excellent work of our fuel-certification engineers, there was no doubt that it would. They checked it thoroughly for spec and pronounced it functionally equivalent to JP-5. But even though SECNAV maintains that the Navy “will continue to be an early adopter of alternative energy sources,” he might take a closer look at the price tag. 

The press release says that the Defense Energy Support Center, which buys fuel for the military, paid $2.7 million for 40,000 gallons of the biofuel. That works out to $67.50 a gallon, although the official Navy fact sheet says the cost was only $33 a gallon. Still, next to the $1.40 a gallon cost of petroleum-derived JP-5, it’s not exactly a bargain — worse even than buying gas in Europe. 

Maybe we can cut back on body armor to pay for it . . .

$67.50 per gallon? Fill ‘er up, dude. Sounds like cap-and-trade has already been implemented in the military.

Source: PlanetGore