The Air Force exceeded by three years a goal to reduce aviation fuel consumption by 10 percent, according to the service’s number two civilian.
Air Force Acting Under Secretary Jamie Morin said yesterday in a conference call the Air Force, overall, reduced its aviation fuel consumption by more than 12 percent in approximately seven years. Morin credited the achievements to a combination of activities, investments and policy initiatives.
Increasing fuel efficiency at installations has also been a key Air Force effort and Morin said the service has reduced facility energy intensity by more than 21 percent since 2003. Morin also said he believes the Air Force is on track to meet a goal of decreased energy intensity goal by 37.5 percent by 2020 and is also on path to achieve a goal of increasing renewable energy use to 25 percent of total consumption by 2025.
“We have a number of goals in the energy area, each aimed at achieving different changes in our enterprise that will generate long-term benefits for the Air Force,” Morin said. “But we believe we are on track on the more distant ones and (we are) very pleased with our achievement on some of the near term ones.”
Morin emphasized the importance of the Air Force’s achievement in reducing energy fuel consumption, a goal he said that was set in 2006. Morin said if the Air Force was still consuming aviation fuel and energy at its 2006 baseline rate, the service’s energy bill for 2012 would have been $1.5 billion higher. Morin said $1.5 billion would have funded the Air Force’s full flying hour program for all of its active duty bombers and attack aircraft.
“This is especially important given the volatility in the fuel market in recent years,” Morin said.
Morin’s remarks came as the Air Force unveiled its Energy Strategic Plan, which focuses the scope of the service’s energy posture. Morin said the plan has four key points: Improving resiliency, reducing demand, assuring supply and fostering an energy-aware culture across the Air Force.
The plan does face some challenges, Morin said.
“We’re building more energy efficient facilities, although I will note that it’s an area where our progress is at risk with the reality of sequestration and the long term budget challenges,” Morin said.
According to the plan, the Air Force in the short term is pursuing a net zero posture for installation energy and water to help achieve a federal goal of zero net energy by 2030 for all new facility construction and alterations, according to the plan. The service has a long term goal of developing an integrated master plan by 2015 that optimizes function, security and efficiency, placing a high priority on energy resiliency and uninterrupted energy and water supplies.
Morin said the Air Force is actively partnering with industry on taking advantage of existing facilities and existing land to find additional opportunities for more renewable energy. Morin also said the service is driving energy awareness through technical training, professional development and educational campaigns.
Increasing energy efficiency is simply a crucial goal for the Air Force as it buys fuel on the open market. Crude oil is up $0.91 since the beginning of March and Morin said further increases in cost would not be surprising.
“We do see real risks given where the prices are in the commodity markets right now that the prices that we are charged for fuel within the defense establishment may have to go up,” Morin said.
The Pentagon has recently emphasized the development of alternative fuels, or biofuels, for their potential cost savings and as a way of weaning the services off of traditional, petroleum-based fossil fuels that are often obtained from adversaries of the United States. The Navy and Air Force have made significant investments in their alternative fuels development over the years, with the two services having an ambitious goal of receiving half their energy from non-fossil fuels by 2020 (Defense Daily, Feb. 5).
The Air Force affirmed last summer in an initial feasibility demonstration the Alcohol-To-Jet (ATJ) biofuel is a viable alternative to power the service’s aircraft (Defense Daily, Jan. 25).