Dennis McGinn - U.S. Navy Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment - highlighted problems shared between the Navy and civilian cities during a recent visit to Arizona State University. In the realm of energy use and reliability, such overlapping issues include cost, sustainability, efficiency and energy security.

During his visit, McGinn toured the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI) at the Polytechnic campus in Mesa. As the largest university-based algae facility on the globe, AzCATI leads the DOE-funded national algae testbed, known as the Algae Testbed Public-Private Partnership (ATP3). McGinn expressed the Navy's interest in the work done by both AzCATI and ATP3, particularly if the cost of creating algae biofuels shrinks to compete with traditional fuel markets.

Through the increased use of U.S.-made renewable fuels, McGinn expects that the nation will achieve a higher level of physical and economic security along with the Navy.