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TriMet will fuel buses with biodiesel
Energy - The transit agency will put a 5 percent blend in all 611 of its fleet, reducing the area's harmful emissions

Saturday, October 28, 2006
JAMES MAYER


TriMet, Oregon's largest consumer of diesel fuel, will become the state's biggest user of biodiesel as well.


On Monday, Carson Oil Co. will deliver the first truckloads of a 5 percent biodiesel blend known as B5 for TriMet's fleet of 611 buses.


"I think it's a huge step forward," said Jeff Rouse, alternative fuels manager for Carson Oil. "This is a pivotal point in TriMet's relationship with alternative fuels."


TriMet's move fits with several other recent efforts in the Portland area to boost biofuels and tackle the environmental effects of diesel trucks. Biodiesel helps reduce harmful emissions and the nation's reliance on petroleum sources.


TriMet will use an estimated 327,000 gallons of biodiesel a year, more than the state's next three biggest biodiesel users combined, a spokeswoman, Mary Fetsch, said. Biodiesel comes from plant oils, used cooking oils and waste animal fats. The B5 fuel will consist of 5 percent biodiesel and 95 percent petroleum diesel.


A handful of other transit agencies have been more aggressive than TriMet in switching to biodiesel. Buses in St. Louis and Cincinnati burn B20 -- a 20 percent blend, and this year, the Central Ohio Transit Authority began using a 90 percent blend in its buses.


TriMet is sticking with B5 for now because the agency's engine manufacturers will only warranty their engines for use with the 5 percent blend, Fetsch said. "The industry is moving toward that. We hope to see an increased level of allowable biodiesel in the next year," she said.


"It will make a difference," to air quality in the Portland area, said Kevin Downing, clean diesel program coordinator for the state Department of Environmental Quality. A 5 percent biodiesel blend cuts particulate emissions by about 1 percent, Downing said. The higher the blend, the more it benefits air quality.


"The real strength in biodiesel is not so much on the air quality side," he said "It is in renewability, the global warming benefits, and the fact that you're not going to the Middle East, you're going to the Midwest."


During the past year, TriMet tested B5 biodiesel in its fleet of LIFT buses that serve people with disabilities and the elderly. Agency officials had concerns about the fuel gelling in cold weather. Fetsch said the tests showed no problems.


The Central Ohio Transit Authority uses a 90 percent blend during the warmer months, switching to 50 percent in October, and 20 percent in December.


As required by federal law, TriMet began using ultra-low sulfur diesel this month, which cuts the sulfur content by 97 percent.


The transit agency announcement is the latest in a series of recent biodiesel developments. The Portland City Council adopted an ordinance that will require gas stations to sell the 5 percent biodiesel blend next year, and the city's Water Bureau vehicles switched to B99 -- or 99 percent biodiesel blend last month.


The TriMet contract makes Carson the state's largest biodiesel distributor. "It allows us to continue to invest in growing the industry," Rouse said. TriMet's decision and the city's recent actions help build demand for biodiesel, he said.


Rouse said the city's requirement that gas stations sell biodiesel will send a message to motorists that it's OK to burn the fuel in their cars.


"And it's a matter of civic pride," he said. "All of a sudden you realize you're replacing 5 percent of the fuel you use with a renewable resource, and you're not contributing to foreign oil issues. It's a great American story."


James Mayer: 503-294-4109; jimmayer@news.oregonian.com

By: Matt Cota


In Santa Barbara, soybean-powered vehicles will soon be hitting the streets.


Beginning July 1, all city-owned vehicles with diesel engines will run on biodiesel, a blend of diesel fuel and soybean oil.


The next time Santa Barbara firefighters fill up their trucks, they will be using biodiesel. The city's entire fleet of 150 diesel cars, vans, trucks and tractors will run on the environmentally-friendly fuel.


"We have been selling biodiesel for several years, and not too many know about it yet," said Ken Olsen, McCormix Corporation.


Olsen has been selling the product at his McCormix gas station for years, and although his customers are loyal, they are few.


One of the reasons is that the soybean fuel blend can be up to a dollar more a gallon than regular diesel. But that is changing, now that the cost of oil is rising, now biodiesel is actually more cost-effective. It is only about 10 cents more, and a whole lot cleaner for cars.


"Hopefully with more demand, there will be more demand and consequently a lower price," said Olsen.


The decision to run its entire fleet on biodiesel makes Santa Barbara the first city in the county, and one of just a handful in the state, to exclusively use the environmentally-friendly fuel.

Less than 30 minutes before closing time, a large white box truck pulls up at BioFuel Oasis, a biodiesel fueling station in West Berkeley. Suzanne Joi, an activist with CodePINK Women for Peace, is about to drive to Washington, D.C., and needs to fill up her truck's 30-gallon tank.


It's a short wait as another customer finishes fueling up a vintage pale yellow Mercedes, at $3.60 a gallon, from the station's one pump. Joi can't make it all the way to D.C. just on biodiesel, a clean-burning substitute fuel for diesel engines made mostly from vegetable oil, but the renewable fuel is becoming more widely available.





"It's surprising how many places have sprung up," she said.


In the garage's adjoining office, a faded red love seat welcomes several other customers waiting to pay or fuel up. Singer Willie Nelson, who tours in a biodiesel-fueled bus, stops by when he's in town; his autograph decorates the wall, lending the women-owned and operated co-op business a hint of celebrity buzz.


Since opening 2 1/2 years ago, BioFuel Oasis has seen its sales triple, said co-owner Jennifer Radtke. For competitive reasons, she would not disclose how much biodiesel Oasis sells. She attributes the growth in sales to word of mouth and more biodiesel cars being on the road.


Many people who now own biodiesel vehicles, like Joi, owned diesel cars for years before switching to cars capable of using biodiesel. There's more awareness today, Radtke said.


"The state of California has been really concerned about greenhouse gas emissions, and that's the issue that biofuels address," Radtke said.


BioFuel Oasis, one of two biodiesel filling stations in the East Bay - the second is Martinez-based Bay Area Diablo Petroleum - is part of a burgeoning grass-roots movement that includes a one-year-old brokerage and three Richmond-based producers.


The Bioenergy Interagency Working Group, an alliance of 10 state agencies that includes the California Air Resources Board and the California Energy Commission, laid out an action plan in April to boost renewable fuel consumption, including ethanol and biodiesel.


The group is seeking a broad-based renewable fuel standard for the state's transportation sector and a consumption target of 2 billion gallons of biofuels by 2020, with 40 percent of that produced in-state. In 2004, Californians consumed about 5 million gallons of biodiesel.

Last week was a busy week for biodiesel in the nation’s capitol. President Bush on Tuesday said he supports biodiesel as part of his energy strategy to encourage conservation, expand domestic production, and develop alternative sources of energy.


“I think we need to follow suit on what we have been emphasizing, particularly through the energy bill, and that is to encourage conservation, to expand domestic production, and to develop alternative sources of energy like ethanol,” Bush said as part of his remarks at a summit hosted by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) in Washington D.C. He added, “I also support biodiesel fuel, which can substitute for regular diesel in cars, trucks, buses and farm equipment.”


President Bush also said that research and development has brought about new alternative sources of energy like biodiesel. “So that’s one of the reasons why I signed into law the first ever federal tax credit for biodiesel,” he said. To read the rest of the President’s speech, click here.


Tom LaSorda, President and CEO, Chrysler Group, and Member of the Board of Management, DaimlerChrysler AG, also presented that day. “A significant part of the solution to our energy, environment, and national security issues can be homegrown!” said LaSorda. “At DaimlerChrysler, we’ve long thought of biofuels as a win-win proposition.”


LaSorda also talked about working with industry towards a higher biodiesel blend acceptance, as well as the promise of clean diesel auto introductions in the U.S. DaimlerChrysler is a proponent of biodiesel, with a B5 factory fill of their diesel Jeep Liberties, as well as B20 acceptance for fleet-use Dodge Rams.


Click here for LaSorda’s comments.


Following Pres. Bush and LaSorda, Bob Dinneen, President of RFA, and Joe Jobe, CEO of National Biodiesel Board, spoke about ethanol and biodiesel. They moderated a discussion panel with members of Congress.