The U.S. Navy has developed what it calls a mean, green riverine machine -- a 49-foot camouflage gunboat capable of outracing destroyer fleets and powered in part by seaweed.
Swishing around in the vessel's fuel tank is a 50-50 mix of algae-based biofuel and diesel that powers high-performance vessels in a way the military says is indistinguishable from conventional fuels.
The new boat is part of the Navy's goal to boost its use of alternative energy, such as biofuels and nuclear power, to half of its total consumption by the year 2020. Only about 16 percent of the Navy's energy currently comes from nuclear power, and the rest from fossil fuels such as oil. The service consumes about 80,000 barrels of oil a day to fuel all of its vessels.
All four branches of the U.S. military together consume 90 percent of the total energy used by the American government.
This is just one step along the way, but it's a history-making step, Rear Adm. Philip Cullom, director of the Navy's Energy and Environmental Readiness Division, told The Virginian-Pilot newspaper after testing the new boat at a Norfolk, Va., naval base last week.
Full story link: http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/us-navy-tests-boat-powered-by-algae/19692768
Swishing around in the vessel's fuel tank is a 50-50 mix of algae-based biofuel and diesel that powers high-performance vessels in a way the military says is indistinguishable from conventional fuels.
The new boat is part of the Navy's goal to boost its use of alternative energy, such as biofuels and nuclear power, to half of its total consumption by the year 2020. Only about 16 percent of the Navy's energy currently comes from nuclear power, and the rest from fossil fuels such as oil. The service consumes about 80,000 barrels of oil a day to fuel all of its vessels.
All four branches of the U.S. military together consume 90 percent of the total energy used by the American government.
This is just one step along the way, but it's a history-making step, Rear Adm. Philip Cullom, director of the Navy's Energy and Environmental Readiness Division, told The Virginian-Pilot newspaper after testing the new boat at a Norfolk, Va., naval base last week.
Full story link: http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/us-navy-tests-boat-powered-by-algae/19692768
