With the backdrop of two House amendments that could likely have a
profound effect on government-purchased biofuels, members of the Truman
National Security Project are urging the Senate Armed Services Committee
to support the military’s use of alternative fuels.

In a May 15 letter to Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and
Ranking Member John McCain (R-Ariz.), the members noted that the U.S.
“sends over $1 billion per day overseas for oil. Our voracious demand for
this single source of fuel ensures high oil prices in a global market,
draining our economy and enabling our enemies. … We cannot drill our way
out of the problem of energy security. Even if we flood the market with
every drop of oil in both our proven and strategic reserves, it will not
be enough to offset rising global demand,”
the letter explained.

“We have to find new sources of fuel,” the letter continued. “As long
as the United States is beholden to global energy prices, our country is
vulnerable.

The Air Force and Army are increasing the fuel efficiency of the vehicles
we use to fight, transport troops and provide support. The Navy is
investing in advanced biofuels programs that will enhance its
power-projection capability.

The Marines are operationalizing common assets like wind and solar power
to decrease energy vulnerability,” the letter noted.
“Some members of Congress, however, oppose these critical programs,”
the letter continued. “They choose to waste time by advocating policies
that have already proven to be failures and attack the military for
investing in prudent measures that will save lives. Taking control of our
energy future would mean preventing future conflicts around the world and
protecting Americans here at home. It is time to secure America with clean
energy. All of our civilian leaders must match the military’s commitment
and stop putting partisan politics ahead of good policy. We call on
Congress to support the Department of Defense as it invests in clean,
domestic, alternative sources of energy for the sake of the security of
the United States of America,” the letter concluded.

The letter was signed by nine retired military leaders.

As OPIS reported last week, the House Armed Services Committee approved
an amendment on May 9 by Rep. Michael Conaway (R-Texas) to the National
Defense Authorization Act for FY 2013 (H.R. 4310) that would prevent the
Department of Defense from using funds available during FY2013 from
producing or procuring any alternative fuel if the cost of producing or
procuring the fuel exceeds the cost of using traditional fossil fuels used
for the same purpose. However, the amendment would exempt the limited
quantities of alternative fuel used to complete fleet certification for
50/50 blends.

In March 2011, the president directed the secretaries of Agriculture,
Energy and the Navy to work with industry to advance a “drop in” biofuel
substitute for diesel and jet fuel. In August 2011, the agencies announced
plans to invest up to $510 million during the next three years to produce
drop-in aviation and marine biofuels, and in December, the Navy announced
“the single largest purchase of advanced drop-in biofuel in government
history by the Defense Logistics Agency,” for 450,000 gal of fuel by
Dynamic Fuels.

Recently, some lawmakers have questioned the Navy’s December 2011
purchase of advanced drop-in fuel, with previous estimates around $26/gal.
Additionally, Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas) introduced an amendment, also
on May 9, to the FY2013 Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriation bill
that would prohibit funds from the bill to be used to enforce section 526
of the Energy Independence Security Act, which calls for the federal
government not to purchase synthetic or alternative fuels that have higher
lifecycle emissions than the equivalent petroleum fuel. His amendment
passed 250-173.

Meanwhile, Operation Free, a campaign of the Truman National Security
Project, has joined an effort launched by the Biotechnology Industry
Organization, the Advanced BioFuels Association, the Algal Biomass
Organization, Airlines for America and several other groups to fight those
two amendments, Truman National Security Project spokeswoman Stephanie
Dreyer explained to OPIS. “Over the next week, we will be meeting with as
many members of SASC [the Senate Armed Services Committee] as possible to
make sure that each senator understands the impact that these amendments
would have on the Department of Defense’s efforts to reduce our dependence
on oil through the use of clean, alternative fuels,” she explained.
“Investments in clean energy, including biofuels, make America more secure
by strengthening our military readiness and protecting us from
unpredictable oil shocks. Meanwhile, the only thing these anti-innovation
amendments protect is oil company profits,” she added.

Nick Juliano, E&E reporter

Published: Thursday, April 26, 2012

With a key House committee set to begin today considering whether to extend a key wind energy tax break that expires at the end of the year, a veterans group is pointing to the role renewable energy plays keeping the lights on at remote bases in war zones and providing jobs to veterans when they return home.

A Ways and Means subcommittee meets this morning to consider proposed legislation that would extend a variety of temporary tax provisions scheduled to expire at the end of this year, including the production tax credit (PTC) for wind, which has been a key focus for renewable energy backers on and off Capitol Hill.

Veterans organized by the group Operation Free, which promotes clean energy development, shared stories of protecting fuel convoys shipping diesel to forward operating bases for power generators. Such operations are a dangerous requirement of operating in a war zone and can be minimized with increased military use of micro wind turbines and solar panels, and advances in such technologies are dependent on continued federal support for renewable energy in the United States, the advocates argued.

“It’s not about saving the polar bears; it’s not about being green. What it’s about is making sure that this great nation of ours has the capability to defend itself and that we ensure that those people that we ask to go out and put their lives on the line have everything they need to be successful,” said John Castellaw, a retired Marine lieutenant general, during a press conference on Capitol Hill yesterday.

“So it is … a necessity that we come here today to press the legislature to extend this credit for wind power and that we move on to make sure that as a nation we maintain the need in alternative energy and renewable energy,” Castellaw added.

Jeff Duff, president of Airstreams Renewables, said his company has trained about 180 veterans in the last few years and placed about 85 percent of its program graduates into jobs within the wind industry. He said companies that hire his program’s graduates plan to cut their hiring demand by as much as 90 percent next year if the wind PTC is not extended.

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), a member of the Ways and Means Committee and an Army veteran, also appeared at yesterday’s event urging the need for a PTC extension as a critical component of broader energy policy changes that are needed to expand renewable energy.

“Already, folks are laying people off, and we can’t have that in the economic environment we’re in,” he said.

The American Wind Energy Association commissioned a study last year that found an expiration of the PTC would cause 37,000 jobs in the industry to be lost next year.

Thompson is one of 93 co-sponsors of a bipartisan bill from Reps. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) and Earl Blumenthal (D-Ore.) that would extend the PTC for wind and other renewable sources through 2016. He said he would speak in favor of the bill during today’s hearing but doubted that a tax extenders bill would be enacted before the lame-duck session after Election Day.

Another of the bill’s Republican supporters, Iowa Rep. Steve King, said he would speak on its behalf today. Speaking to reporters off the House floor yesterday evening, he said he would promote the national security benefits of renewable energy as a reason to extend the tax credit.

“When people say it’s subsidizing wind, I say then you have to charge … the carrier, the battle group, the bullet-proof vest, the M4s, all of that military that goes over to the Middle East to protect our interests — that’s also a cost of keeping energy in the United States,” King said. “So if you want to measure against wind or some of the other renewable energies that you have, you also have to measure the foreign power projection necessary to replace it.”

Today’s hearing will also feature opponents of tax credit extensions, such as Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), who has sponsored a bill that would eliminate the PTC and a bevy of other energy tax breaks, including some that apply to fossil fuels.

Read more: http://www.eenews.net/EEDaily/2012/04/26/archive/8?terms=nick+juliano

Congressman Thompson, Vets, Industry Experts Call For Wind Power Tax Credit Extension

Apr 25, 2012

Wind Energy Critical to America’s Security

By Ben Lowe

Operation Free released the following press release after an event in Washington, DC today that featured Congressman Mike Thompson, Airstreams Renewables CEO Jeff Huff, and Lieutenant General John Castellaw (USMC, retired) and other Operation Free veterans.

Vets Group: Wind Energy Critical to America’s Security
Congressman Thompson, Vets, Industry Experts Call For Wind Power Tax Credit Extension

From left: Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1), Lieutenant General John Castellaw (USMC-ret.), and Truman Project Vice President Mike Breen at an Operation Free event on Capitol Hill. Click for full-sized image.

WASHINGTON—Today, at a press event, Congressman Mike Thompson joined retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General John Castellaw; Mike Breen, Vice President of the Truman National Security Project; and Jeff Duff, President of veterans clean jobs training company Airstreams Renewables, to talk about how critical renewing the Wind Production Tax Credit (PTC) is to America’s economic and national security. The Wind PTC is an important federal program without which 37,000 jobs and $10-20 billion of domestic investment will be lost next year and thereafter.

Congressman Thompson, a Vietnam Army veteran and member of the House Ways and Means Committee, made clear the urgency of passing an extension to the Wind PTC. “We must do everything we can to encourage the use of clean, renewable, and domestic sources of energy. That is why I have coauthored legislation that would extend the Production Tax Credit,” said Thompson. “Extending these tax incentives will give businesses certainty, help create and save more than 50,000 American jobs in the next four years, and allow us to strengthen our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Congress should act now.”

Congressman Thompson speaks at an April 25 Operation Free event. Click for full-sized image.

Wind power is a critical part of America’s energy independence. Wind is the second-fastest growing source of energy in America, producing enough power for ten million American homes. This growth in wind energy is possible because of the Wind PTC, which rewards companies for producing clean wind power. This federal tax incentive program provides 2.2 cents to companies for every kilowatt-hour produced for their first ten years of operation.

“We’re going to need sources of energy we can rely on in the twenty-first century,” said Breen. “Wind energy is already a clean source of power that provides energy for ten million American homes. We should be doing whatever we can to take advantage of this reliable source of domestic power. If Members of Congress take America’s energy security seriously, they will work quickly to renew the Wind Production Tax Credit.”

# # #

On Wednesday, Advocacy Communications Director Benjamin Lowe made the following statement on behalf Operation Free:

Operation Free applauds the Obama Administration’s All-of-the-Above Approach to American Energy that will strengthen energy security for America’s troops. The Department of Defense is making one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history by developing three gigawatts of renewable energy –solar, wind, biomass and geothermal – on Army, Navy and Air Force installations by 2025. That’s enough to power 750,000 homes.

The United States sends over $1 billion per day overseas for oil. Our voracious demand for this single source of fuel ensures high oil prices in a global market, draining our economy and enabling our enemies. Every time the price of a barrel of crude goes up five dollars, Iran makes an additional $7.9 annually.

Since the President took office, our reliance on oil from abroad has decreased – a trend that reduces our reliance on oil and makes us less vulnerable to unstable regimes overseas. Oil imports have been falling since 2005 and net imports as a share of total consumption declined from 57 percent in 2008 to 45 percent in 2011.

Operation Free is a nationwide coalition of veterans who believe clean energy is critical to America’s security. Learn more atwww.OperationFree.net. Operation Free is an advocacy campaign of the Truman National Security Project.

###