Paul F. Foster, The Green Destroyer

The US Navy reports that it has had a successful test of new bio-fuel made from algae and regular fuel.  The test bed was former USS Paul F. Foster,  decommissioned in 2003, and designated to replace ex-Decatur as the Navy’s Self Defense Test Ship. In support of this new role, she is assigned to Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division^.  She is now the last surviving example of the Spruance Class.

From NavyTimes:

PORT HUENEME, Calif. — The Navy says its largest test of alternative fuel use was a success with the safe arrival of a destroyer powered by a mix of algae-based fuel and petroleum.

The Paul F. Foster ship arrived Thursday morning to the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Port Hueneme in Southern California after traveling for 17 hours on a maiden trip from San Diego.

Officials say the test on the decommissioned destroyer was a major milestone for the Navy aiming to cut its fossil fuel use in half over the next decade. The Navy plans to incorporate what it calls a “Great Green Fleet,” entirely run on alternative fuels by 2016.

The Navy says the destroyer performed the same as when it runs on fossil fuel.

It is interesting to note that while many “Eco” groups are demanding, pontificating, and otherwise bloviating about the need for more “eco-friendly” and “renewable source” fuels, the US Navy, and, indeed, the entire US Military has taken the lead in actually researching, developing, testing, and using these new fuels, as well as other “green” energy sources.

How embarrassing it must be for groups like “Greenpeace” to be talking, while the military is doing.  Impre.com sums it up best:

……. and considering that even Greenpeace’s largest ship, the MV Esperanza, runs on fossil fuels despite all the environmentally friendly adjustments, one cannot help but be bewildered at the fact that it was a U.S Navy man-of-war that was to steal their thunder.

The US Navy: Leadership By Example.