Senate passes amendment allowing biofuel refinery construction

The sheer madness continues. While the U.S. sits on more energy than we know what to do with, a Senate amendment that would block the waste of this biofuel nonsense by the defense dept. goes down.  Madness. Now even Defense is going to throw our money out the window to cronies. You would think we don’t have a drop of oil, coal or natural gas.

The federal government aids the development of advanced biofuels with $510 million of funding through the Defense Production Act. The act, which includes an industry match, aims to reduce the military’s dependence on foreign oil by strengthening the domestic fuel industry. Sure sounds good.

Earlier I had posted U.S. Navy going Green:

Navy buys biofuel for $16 a gallon

This is going to help the Defense Department weather looming budget cuts, for sure. Teaming up with the Department of Agriculture (which has a cheery Rotary Club ring to it), the Navy has purchased 450,000 gallons of biofuel for about $16 a gallon, or about 4 times the price of its standard marine fuel, JP-5, which has been going for under $4 a gallon.The why and more at Hot Air. Corruption reigns supreme.

By 2020, the Navy must learn to get at least 50 percent of energy from alternative sources, and 50 percent of the military vessels will have to try hard to zero out- that is to spend no more energy than they can produce. In other words, the sailors themselves have expressed doubts as to how efficient the vessels will be after the replacement of traditional fuels with alternative ones.

The Senate passed an amendment to the defense bill Thursday that would strike the prohibition on biofuel refinery construction. Individual breakdown of those voting : Vote here

The biofuels the Defense Production Act supports are made from non-edible feedstocks, such as algae and switchgrass. Advocates say those fuels could provide a sustainable way to power the nation’s vehicle fleet.

The amendment allows the Department of Defense to invest in refineries for “advanced” biofuels through a joint Agriculture, Energy and Navy Departments agreement.

Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) introduced amendment 3095, which passed on a 54-41 vote. She said the military’s reliance on oil subjects it to price shocks.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), Mike Johanns (Neb.) and Dick Lugar (Ind.) voted with Democrats for the amendment, while Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) opposed the amendment. The Hill