Experimental destroyer in dock (Source: Navy Times)
Retired destroyer is remotely controlled
The U.S. Navy has made no secret about wanting to transition its ships and other vehicles from petroleum to alternative fuels
. The move is being cited as a way to reduce the consumption of imported oil. The Navy has already been showing off ships and other vehicles that run on a mix of biofuel and diesel.
The fuel in question is the same mix of algae oil based bio fuel and diesel used on the small Riverine command boat. The ship is the former destroyer known as the Paul F. Foster and it will be the largest ship yet to operate with the biofuel.
The fuel in the tanks is a 50/50 blend of F-76 petroleum and the hydro-processed algae oil. The fuel will be used to power one of the LM2500 gas turbines the ship uses for propulsion and it will power the ship’s service turbine. The experimental ship will travel on November 16 from Point Loma in San Diego to the Navy Surface Warfare Center in Port Hueneme, California. The trip is considered a short overnight jaunt.
The ship will take on 20,000 gallons of the biofuel previously said to sell for over $400 per gallon.
The retired destroyer is known as the Self Defense Test Ship and is a remotely controlled, self-defense weapons engineering platform that can be used without risking personnel. The test is part of the Navy's push to have a "Great Green Fleet" by 2016.
Original post available here.
No comments:
Post a Comment