Energy challenge: in the race to be green, Navy moves to the front of the pack.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.

The Navy is positioning itself to take the lead among the military services in the use of renewable energy and in planning for future contingencies that may result from climate change.

If carried out successfully, an ambitious "energy reform" plan unveiled last month by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus could boost the Navy's role as the Defense Department's bellwether for green programs. The Pentagon has embraced broad goals to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and to consider the potential consequences of climate change in the nation's long-term military strategy. It also wants to shrink its fuel bill. Fuel costs in recent years have fluctuated from $12 billion to $20 billion a year, depending on the price of crude.

But these larger objectives, for the most part, have yet to translate into major reforms. Much of the energy-efficiency push has occurred at military bases in the United States, where the Army and the Air Force have launched multibillion-dollar solar and wind energy projects. But military installations only consume 25 percent of the Pentagon's daily intake of about 300,000 barrels of oil, which is less than 2 percent of the U.S. daily usage of 21 million barrels. The other 75 percent is pumped into airplanes, ships and trucks, and delivered to war zones to fuel vehicles and to power thousands of electric generators at forward operating bases.

Marine Corps Gen. James Conway said it costs up to $400 to ship a gallon of fuel to Afghanistan, when factoring transportation and convoy-security expenses. Bringing fuel to the front lines also costs lives, because convoys are vulnerable to roadside bombs. This is bad news considering that most U.S. weapon systems are "gas hogs," said Mabus at an energy conference in McLean, Va. Further, the carbon emitted by ships, aircraft and vehicles contributes to climate change, he said.

The Navy alone bums 35 million gallons of fossil fuel per year.

The most potentially consequential reforms that Mabus is initiating are the expanded use of biofuels in Navy weapons systems and changes in acquisition policies. These new roles would penalize contractors for making systems that are not energy-efficient, and would take into account contractors' energy-saving practices.

"We are going to change the way the Navy and Marine Corps award contracts," said Mabus. The lifetime energy cost of a building or a system, and the costs of fuel--including delivery expense--will be mandatory evaluation factors when awarding contracts. "We are going to hold industry contractually accountable for meeting energy targets and system efficiency requirements," said Mabus. "We will also use the overall energy efficiency and the energy footprint of a competing company as an additional factor in acquisition decisions."

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Mabus also announced plans to deploy by 2016 a "green strike group," composed of nuclear vessels and ships powered by biofuel. The strike group will be part of a green fleet that will consist of nuclear powered ships, surface combatants equipped with hybrid-electric alternative power systems that run biofuel, and aircraft flying only on biofuels.

The Navy estimates that 17 percent of its total energy consumption comes from alternative sources. By 2020, Mabus wants half of the Navy's total energy consumption for ships, aircraft...