Air force: to save fuel, we must change how we fly.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: ENERGY

The Pentagon in recent years has launched umpteen projects to promote the use of renewable energy and lower consumption of fossil fuels.

Green initiatives such as solar-powered military bases, bio-fueled fighter jets and hybrid-electric trucks are advertised as secret weapons in the war against foreign oil. In the near term, however, none of these energy-saving schemes realistically will make much of a dent in the Pentagon's considerable consumption of oil, which has reached 120 million barrels per year--or nearly 2 percent of all U.S. demand.

If the Defense Department is to seriously begin to end its dependence on foreign oil, there is only one simple way to do it in the near term: Fly less.

It's the Willie Sutton principle applied to energy: If the Pentagon wants to save energy, it must target aviation because that's where the fuel is.

Air Force officials have acknowledged that much. They have set a goal to reduce aviation fuel use by 10 percent between now and 2015. That is a tall order that Air Force leaders concede may be tough to achieve but is still worth pursuing. Of the armed services, the Air Force currently spends the most on fuel, running up 64 percent of the Pentagon's gas bill. Most of that fuel--about 84 percent--is for aviation. More than half of the aviation fuel, or 52 percent, is spent transporting cargo and passengers.

The money that could be saved just by cutting fuel use by 10 percent is not insignificant. In 2010, the Air Force will spend $6.7 billion on aviation fuel, compared to $1.4 billion on energy for installations and ground equipment.

"We realize it's ambitious, but it's incredibly important" to set specific goals for reducing demand, said Erin C. Conaton, undersecretary of the Air Force.

Conaton, a former staff director of the House Armed Services Committee, joined the Air Force in March and has been put in charge of overseeing the service's energy strategy. Conaton said it has become clear that only by consuming less aviation fuel can the Defense Department make any substantial, near-term progress in curtailing purchases of imported oil.

Aviation-fuel economy is part of a broader Air Force energy plan that was unveiled in December and sets three goals: reduce demand, increase supply and change the culture.

Consuming less aviation fuel is the most challenging, but potentially the most rewarding piece of the strategy. The idea is not simply to cut flying hours by 10 percent, Conaton told reporters during an...