The United States Navy's Great Green Fleet was an energy cost saving measure announced in 2009 to begin using a combination of conventional diesel fuel and biofuels in a 50/50 mixture. [1] The first demonstration by the USS Nimitz carrier task group during RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific exercise) in 2012 was completed without incident. [2] The Great Green Fleet, the popular nickname, is an homage to the Great White Fleet of the early 20th century.
Since the 1970s, the world has begun to be acutely aware of the impact of climate change and the influence fossil fuels has had on the progress of the natural migrations of climate. The United States Department of Defense is seeking to change the profile of its energy usage. While each branch of the military has its own goals and plans, the Navy's goals were particularly ambitious:
The Navy's efforts are highlighted by the design of the Great Green Fleet. The carrier, the USS Nimitz, was nuclear powered, but everything else, including the Nimitz's strike aircraft, ran on a 50:50 mix of petroleum and biofuel derived from cooking oil and algae. [1] Fully deployed in 2016, the fleet combines advances in fuels, equipment, and navigation all in an effort to deploy the most energy efficient and modern fleet anywhere in the world. [4]
More than six years after it was first announced, the Great Green Fleet made its maiden voyage on late January 20, 2016. [5] Overall, the 2016 Great Green Fleet initiative was a year-long event. The Department of the Navy obtained 77.66 million gallons of cost-competitive, drop-in biofuels blends in support of the launch of the Great Green Fleet at $2.05 per gal. One of the goals of the Navy in its biofuels program is “not to have to sail to the Middle East every time we re-fuel." [6] The Navy aims to deploy a permanent green strike force after 2016.
"The Great Green Fleet will signal to the world America's continued naval supremacy, unleashed from the tether of foreign oil." - Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy
The 2012 fleet was composed of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), the cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59), the two destroyers USS Chafee (DDG 90) and USS Chung Hoon (DDG 93), and the fuel tanker USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO-187). [7]
The 2016 fleet was composed of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53), and guided-missile destroyers USS Chung Hoon (DDG 93), USS Stockdale (DDG 106) and USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) are all operating in the Indo-Asia-Pacific using alternative fuel. [8]
There are reservations from some politicians, as well as military officials that the transition to alternative fuel sources would be too costly. [9] Beyond the strict fuel costs, there are also concerns about the time and resources which would be required to create the necessary support structure to produce the volume of fuel sufficient for the military's needs. [10] During the oil embargo of 1973 there were extensive and costly efforts to develop alternative fuels. A market for these fuels failed to develop, and economical fuels and research and development was not pursued. Many economists and scientists fear that this atmosphere will not develop for the current fuels.
The Navy's goals will further their own objectives, but will also have far-reaching effects in the US and beyond. Reducing US reliance on foreign petroleum has numerous strategic advantages, and could work to avert future conflicts centered around the acquisition of petroleum stores. [11] The call for alternative fuels has already begun to drive innovation, with companies striving to create efficient processes to bring biofuel availability to the necessary scale the military requires. [12] Energy companies Solazyme (CA) and Dynamic Fuels (LA) are working towards numerous fuels and competing for the contracts offered by the U.S Department of Defense, [13] and continued studies by military and civilian researchers will build momentum in both the scientific community, as well as the energy marketplace. [14] Studies have also shown a decrease in particulate emissions from the use of algal biofuels versus naval diesel fuel. [15] [16] Crossover and cooperation with the civilian marketplace is already underway with comparable studies and efforts underway in civilian aviation and maritime fleets. As all these efforts come together, we may see public acceptance for biofuels grow, and a demand for cleaner, more efficient fuels from populations across the globe. [17]
The Nimitz class is a class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy. The lead ship of the class is named after World War II United States Pacific Fleet commander Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was the last living U.S. Navy officer to hold the rank. With an overall length of 1,092 ft (333 m) and a full-load displacement of over 100,000 long tons (100,000 t), the Nimitz-class ships were the largest warships built and in service until USS Gerald R. Ford entered the fleet in 2017.
USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, and the lead ship of her class. One of the largest warships in the world, she was laid down, launched, and commissioned as CVAN-68, "aircraft carrier, attack, nuclear powered", but she was later redesignated as CVN-68, "aircraft carrier, multi-mission, nuclear-powered", on 30 June 1975, as part of a fleet-wide realignment that year.
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic or industrial biowaste. The climate change mitigation potential of biofuel varies considerably, from emission levels comparable to fossil fuels in some scenarios to negative emissions in others. Biofuels are mostly used for transportation, but can also be used for heating and electricity. Biofuels are regarded as a renewable energy source.
Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with an alcohol, producing a methyl, ethyl or propyl ester by the process of transesterification.
The Gerald R. Ford class is a class of nuclear powered aircraft carriers currently being constructed for the United States Navy. The class, with a planned total of ten ships, will replace the Navy's current carriers on a one-for-one basis, starting with the lead ship, Gerald R. Ford, replacing Enterprise (CVN-65), and then eventually taking the place of the existing Nimitz-class carriers. The new vessels have a hull similar to the Nimitz-class, but introduce technologies since developed with the CVN(X)/CVN-21 program, such as the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), as well as other design features intended to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs, including sailing with smaller crews. This class of aircraft carriers is named after former US President Gerald R. Ford. The first ship of the class, CVN-78, was procured in 2008 and commissioned into service on 22 July 2017. The second ship of the class, John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), is expected to be commissioned into service in 2024.
Alternative fuel, also known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, are fuels derived from sources other than fossil fuels. These fuels serve, at least partially, as a substitute for traditional energy sources like gasoline and diesel in transportation and can help to contribute to decarbonization and reductions in pollution.
Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial aviation are Jet A and Jet A-1, which are produced to a standardized international specification. The only other jet fuel commonly used in civilian turbine-engine powered aviation is Jet B, which is used for its enhanced cold-weather performance.
United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka or Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka is a United States Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, Seventh Fleet and other operating forces assigned in the Western Pacific. CFAY is the largest strategically important U.S. naval installation in the western Pacific.
Renewable Fuels are fuels produced from renewable resources. Examples include: biofuels, Hydrogen fuel, and fully synthetic fuel produced from ambient carbon dioxide and water. This is in contrast to non-renewable fuels such as natural gas, LPG (propane), petroleum and other fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Renewable fuels can include fuels that are synthesized from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Renewable fuels have gained in popularity due to their sustainability, low contributions to the carbon cycle, and in some cases lower amounts of greenhouse gases. The geo-political ramifications of these fuels are also of interest, particularly to industrialized economies which desire independence from Middle Eastern oil.
United States ship naming conventions for the U.S. Navy were established by congressional action at least as early as 1862. Title 13, section 1531, of the U.S. Code, enacted in that year, reads, in part,
The vessels of the Navy shall be named by the Secretary of the Navy under direction of the President according to the following rule: Sailing-vessels of the first class shall be named after the States of the Union, those of the second class after the rivers, those of the third class after the principal cities and towns and those of the fourth class as the President may direct.
Algae fuel, algal biofuel, or algal oil is an alternative to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae as its source of energy-rich oils. Also, algae fuels are an alternative to commonly known biofuel sources, such as corn and sugarcane. When made from seaweed (macroalgae) it can be known as seaweed fuel or seaweed oil.
An aviation biofuel or bio-jet fuel or bio-aviation fuel (BAF) is a biofuel used to power aircraft and is said to be a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The International Air Transport Association (IATA) considers it a key element to reducing the carbon footprint within the environmental impact of aviation. Aviation biofuel could help decarbonize medium- and long-haul air travel generating most emissions, and could extend the life of older aircraft types by lowering their carbon footprint.
Algae fuel in the United States, as with other countries, is under study as a source of biofuel.
Carrier Strike Group 10, abbreviated as CSG-10 or CARSTRKGRU 10, is a U.S. Navy carrier strike group. As of August 2022, CSG-10 consist of USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), the strike group's current flagship, with Carrier Air Wing Seven embarked on board, as well as the Ticonderoga-class cruiserLeyte Gulf, and four ships of Destroyer Squadron 26.
Carrier Strike Group 11 is a U.S. Navy carrier strike group. The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is the strike group's current flagship. Other units currently assigned to the group include the cruisers USS Lake Erie (CG-70) and USS Princeton (CG-59), and Destroyer Squadron 9.
Carrier Strike Group 3 is a U.S. Navy carrier strike group. Carrier strike groups gain and maintain sea control as well as project naval airpower ashore. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is the group's current flagship. Other units assigned include Carrier Air Wing Nine; the Ticonderoga-class cruiserUSS Mobile Bay (CG-53); and the ships of Destroyer Squadron 21.
HII is the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States as well as a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. HII, ranked No. 371 on the Fortune 500, was formed on March 31, 2011, as a spin-off of Northrop Grumman.
Commander, Carrier Strike Group 8, abbreviated as CCSG-8 or COMCARSTRKGRU 8, is one of five U.S. Navy carrier strike groups currently assigned to the United States Fleet Forces Command. As of 2018 the group flagship is the Nimitz-class aircraft carrierUSS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75). As of 2021, the other units of the group are the guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG-56), Carrier Air Wing One, the ships of Destroyer Squadron 28 as well as the Royal Norwegian Navy's frigate HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen (F310), which joined the strike group for one deployment.
Carbon-neutral fuel is fuel which produces no net-greenhouse gas emissions or carbon footprint. In practice, this usually means fuels that are made using carbon dioxide (CO2) as a feedstock. Proposed carbon-neutral fuels can broadly be grouped into synthetic fuels, which are made by chemically hydrogenating carbon dioxide, and biofuels, which are produced using natural CO2-consuming processes like photosynthesis.
In 1989, the United States Navy was on the verge of massive cuts to military spending cuts including ship and aircraft procurement. These forces were expected to fight the Soviet Union, Warsaw Pact and other potential adversaries in case of a war breaking out. At this time, the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) of the Pacific Fleet was out of commission for Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) modernization leaving the 3rd Fleet with less carriers.