The U.S. Navy is now joining in with the U.S. biofuel trend just as President Obama announced the initiative to increase biofuel production in the country. The Navy has completed testing and evaluating alternative fuels on a Riverine Command Boat (RCB-X), or experimental boat. The biofuel-powered RCB-X boat supports the secretary of the Navy’s efforts for reducing fleet reliance on fossil fuels and is just the beginning of a series of progressively complex tests and evaluations scheduled to take place through 2012.

The demonstrations will conclude in the year 2012 with a Green Strike Group of U.S. Navy ships operating locally. A Great Green Fleet powered entirely by alternative fuels will be deployed by the year 2016.

"Going green is about combat capability and assuring Navy's mobility," said Rear Adm. Philip Cullom, director of the Chief of Naval Operations Energy and Environmental Readiness Division, which leads the Navy's Task Force Energy. "It is not just about natural security; it also strengthens national security. By having reliable and abundant alternate sources of energy, we will no longer be held hostage by any one source of energy, such as petroleum.

"First and foremost, energy conservation extends tactical range of our forces while also preserving precious resources. Our goal, as a Navy, is to be an 'early adopter' of new technologies that enhance national security in an environmentally sustainable way," said Cullom.

The fuel, a "drop in replacement" to standard shipboard fuel, is 50 percent algae-based and 50 percent NATO F-76 fuel, which forms a 50/50 blend of hydro-processed renewable diesel, also known in industry as "HR-D."