Air Force drops coal-to-liquid fuel plant project; attention turns to biofuels

In Washington, the US Air Force announced that it has canceled plans for a coal-to-liquid plant that would produce fuel for the B-1, B-52,  C-17, F-15, F-22, C-5 and KC-135. Liquid fuel from coal produces twice as much CO2 as conventional fossil fuels, but the USAF had previously proceeded with plans for a privately-funded CTL plant in Montana. The Air Force would not comment on whether economics or environmental concerns prompted the move, which places more emphasis on the defense community’s advanced biofuels development programs.

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