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Decision due on Mont. synthetic fuel plant

The future of a synthetic fuel plant that would power fighters and cargo planes with processed coal will be announced this week.

The Air Force decided on Friday whether to move ahead with a plan to build a synthetic fuel plant at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.

Due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and the inauguration, Air Force spokesman Gary Strasburg said the decision will not be released until Wednesday.

The proposal is part of the Air Force’s Enhanced Use Lease program, which allows a private company to lease space on military bases in exchange for base infrastructure improvements.

The owners of the proposed plant at Malmstrom would pay the Air Force in fuel.

The Air Force plans to certify all its airframes on domestic synthetic fuel by 2011 and has been checking off test flights steadily: The B-52, C-17, B-1 and F-15 have all flown with a 50-50 blend of conventional jet fuel and coal-derived diesel.

The service is responsible for 10 percent of aviation fuel consumption in the country and spends billions a year on jet fuel.

The Air Force’s stated goal is to fly all planes with the 50-percent blend by 2016.