US Military Spends $7M on Biodiesel Fuel
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Small business qualifier Southern Counties Oil Co., doing business as SC Fuels in Orange, CA won a $7 million modification to a fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for biodiesel fuel on behalf of the US Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 28 proposals originally solicited with 21 responses, and the date of performance completion is Aug 31/09. The Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, VA issued the contract (SP0600-06-D-4528).
SC Fuels has already worked with Disneyland [PDF] and Safeway grocery stores on biodiesel projects. Most forms of biodiesel fuel actually end up requiring more energy inputs to produce and refine than they produce as outputs, which makes them very dubious replacements for fossil fuels. Nevertheless, the US military is running a number of experiments and solicitations involving biodiesel and synthetic blends in its aircraft and vehicles, in case strategic issues or improved production techniques make some level of biodiesel replacement an intelligent option in future. In situations where future uncertainty is high, a strategy of placing a diverse array of low-priced options on various possibilities, with follow-on investment as circumstances dictate, is a standard recommendation.
