HDT USA announced that they are producing Diesel Motorcycles for the US military and they will be on sale to the general public in March 2006.
I’ve written before about the odd fact that the US military relies heavily on diesel but doesn’t seem to have domestic-diesel production strategy. The reliance on foreign oil is a conversation piece for most of us, but one would think the US military would see something like biodiesel production as a hugely influential factor in supply-chain dependence and security.
Imagine remote units converting local fats and oils into fuel rather than requiring vulnerable fueling convoys to follow them around.
I am putting a proposal together to present a domestic-fuel strategy to a VP of a logistics / distribution division for a major American company. A year ago bio-diesel production was hovering around US$3/gallon, which was a bit high for most execs to swallow and so we used to also talk about the environmental benefits for the air, landfills, etc., but those don’t incite change on their own, yet. However, today the import-oil companies charge as much if not more for their fuel, making the transition to a more secure (and cleaner and more efficient) domestic source somewhat obvious, no?
Yes – you are right on the money. Diesel is much more available to our military especially in foreign countries.
In a combat situation – when in a pinch – SVO – straight veggie oil could be mixed with the D2 diesel or biodiesel. To get out of a jam.
Actually SVO runs in any diesel vehicle if you use a separate tank and fuel line and inline heater – start with diesel – biodiesel – warm up and switch to SVO – then do the reverse on shut down.
Olive oil would do just fine – even the lowest grade olive oil.
In the U.S. and most everywhere else – biodiesel is the only legal alternate diesel fuel. SVO is not recognized by the EPA or DOT.