7 item(s) were returned.
The House Armed Services Committee’s newly proposed 2013 Pentagon budget contains a provision that would prevent the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) from purchasing alternative fuels, largely in the form of biofuels, if they cost more than traditional fuels. The proposal comes at a time when the military is ramping up its use of biofuels and the U.S. biofuel industry could use the certainty provided by a customer as large and influential as DoD. An example of DoD’s alternative fuels efforts: In 2009, the navy announced a plan that would have the navy utilize 50% non-oil energy in its operations… [more]
View InsightA recent report from the Bipartisan Policy Center, Energy Innovation at the Department of Defense: Assessing the Opportunities, challenges the assumption that the DoD can function as a be-all-end-all driver of U.S. energy. From the report: “DoD’s historical record on energy innovation is extraordinary, and there is reason to hope that important advances might come from a renewed effort in this area. But there also appear at present to be significant limitations upon the scope and scale of DoD’s likely influence on technological advance that can contribute to the nation’s energy infrastructure as a whole, and particularly to the development… [more]
View InsightNote: Synopsis drawn from the report. Synopsis intended solely for the purpose of generating discussion. Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future by the Obama Administration Demand for oil in countries like China and India is growing, and the price of oil will continue to rise with it. We need to make America more secure and control our energy future by harnessing all of the resources that we have available and embracing a diverse energy portfolio. Beyond our efforts to reduce our dependence on oil, we must focus on expanding cleaner sources of electricity, including renewables like wind and solar, as… [more]
View InsightNote: Synopsis adapted by OurEnergyPolicy.org from report summary. Synopsis intended solely for purposes of generating discussion. Alternative Fuels for Military Applications By James T. Bartis & Lawrence Van Bibber, RAND Corporation The U.S. military has expressed interest in being early users of alternative fuels in their tactical weapon systems. Doing so would supplement the services’ use of gasohol and biodiesel in administrative and other nondeployable vehicles. Each of the services has established programs geared toward reducing dependence on the use of fossil fuels in tactical weapon systems, such as aircraft, combat ships and vehicles, and supporting equipment. If the services… [more]
View InsightNote: Synopsis from report‘s executive summary. Creating a Clean Energy Century: Recapturing the Lead in Clean Tech Innovation By Josh Freed, Sam Hodas, Sarah Collins, and Stephanie Praus While the energy market has always been driven by fossil fuels, it is moving slowly, but inevitably, toward clean energy as countries decide they can no longer tolerate the pollution costs and security risks of conventional energy or the threat of global warming. The great hurdle is making clean energy as cheap as fossil fuels. This will require major breakthroughs. Existing clean energy sources are too expensive and have technical limitations. The… [more]
View InsightNote: Synopsis based on OurEnergyPolicy.org review. Synopsis intended solely for purposes of generating discussion. How a Limited and Direct Approach to Energy Innovation Can Deliver Clean, Cheap Energy, Economic Productivity and National Prosperity By Steven F. Hayward, American Enterprise Institute Mark Muro, Brookings Institution Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger, Breakthrough Institute Fossil fuels have undeniably been critical to American prosperity and development, but we can gradually move toward cleaner, healthier, and safer energy sources. Our goal today should be to make new clean energy sources much cheaper so they can steadily displace fossil fuels. If we structure this transition correctly,… [more]
View Insight[Note: The statements below are intended solely to stimulate discussion among the Expert community, and do not represent the position of OurEnergyPolicy.org. Text in italics indicates clarification or expansion.] One of the major roadblocks to the implementation of a national energy policy is the difference between federal, state and local agendas. Our energy policy is now an essential part of our national security. When it comes to “classical security” (i.e., DOD), the federal government enjoys greater power over state and local government (although not absolute). It is now time to increase the power of the federal government when it… [more]
View Insight