Hawaiian sugarcane firm to drive Navy biofuel development

April 8, 2010

The Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S) has said it is aiming to become a large-scale “energy farm” to provide biofuels for the US Navy and Hawaii itself.

The company based in Pu’unene, Hawaii, is set to play a major role in the research and development efforts to help the Navy reduce its reliance on foreign oil.

US Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan met with Naval leaders in Hawaii this week to discuss plans following January’s Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations to pursue biofuels.

Plans include setting up a Green Strike Group to demonstrate the use of biofuels in Naval vessels by 2012.

By 2016, the Navy will launch a full “Green Fleet” that will include biofuel-powered ships and aircraft, along with hybrid systems and nuclear-powered vessels.

The USDA said in extreme cases, transporting fuel at the moment can cost the Navy $400 a gallon. In a bid to strengthen its energy security and reduce its dependency on foreign fuels, the Navy is looking to cut petroleum use in its 50,000-strong non-tactical vehicle fleet in half by 2015.

It is also working to produce half of the energy for its shore-based installations from alternative sources by 2020.

Along the way, the demand for biofuels from the US Navy will help support the biofuels industry in the US, Deputy Secretary Merrigan said.

“We can use the Navy’s fleet as a catalyst to increase demand for biofuels and spur economic opportunity in rural communities throughout the country,” she said.

Navy Assistant Secretary Jackalyne Pfannenstiel said: “This collaborative effort will enable us to reduce our petroleum consumption and increase our alternative energy opportunities. The Navy and Marine Corps’ warfighting capability will benefit through a more secure energy future.”

HC&S

The Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S) said it will be a major part of research initiatives to support the work by the Navy to move towards greater biofuels usage.

It cultivates more than 35,000 acres of sugarcane in Maui’s central valley, with most of its unrefined sugar sent to California’s C&H Sugar for refining.

The company will run two separate programs, one funded with $2 million a year from the Department of Energy to research energy crop development and energy conversion technologies.

The other, with $2 million a year from the Navy, will support crop and technology assessments and an evaluation of long-term resource requirements for biofuel production.

“This federal funding represents a vote of confidence in Hawaii and in the future of HC&S,@ said Chris Benjamin, general manager at HC&S. “It is a significant step toward our goal of transforming HC&S into a large-scale energy farm, playing a key role in securing Hawaii’s energy future.”

HC&S already uses around 500,000 tons of sugarcane residues to generate electricity, which meets its own needs with excess sold to the Maui Electric Company.