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|  | Pres. Bush Makes Historic Visit to Biodiesel Plant |  |
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 Visiting a biodiesel plant near Richmond, Virginia May 16, President Bush called biodiesel “one of our nation’s most promising alternative fuel sources” and discussed the importance of a comprehensive energy plan to wean the United States from foreign petroleum.
“By developing biodiesel you’re making this country less dependent on foreign oil,” Bush said, while speaking to a crowd gathered at Virginia Biodiesel Refinery, LLC, a biodiesel plant that began operating in March of 2004.
“The high prices we pay today have been decades in the making,” he said as he pressed Congress to pass a comprehensive Energy Bill. “For the sake of the American consumers it is time to confront our problems now and not pass them on to future congresses and future generations.”
This is the first time any president has visited a biodiesel plant. Representatives of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), American Soybean Association (ASA) and United Soybean Board attended, along with hundreds of other industry leaders, Virginia farmers, government representatives and others.
Rounding out the historic week for the biodiesel industry, biodiesel champions in the U.S. Senate and House introduced bills to extend the federal tax incentive. Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Jim Talent (R-MO) are the chief sponsors of the Senate stand-alone bill, which would extend the biodiesel federal excise tax credit to 2010. The existing incentive is scheduled to expire at the end of 2006. The introduction of this legislation will pave the way for its inclusion in the Senate Finance Committee’s energy tax package, which will be written by longtime biodiesel champion Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA).
Extending the tax credit is the biodiesel industry’s number one priority in order to maximize its benefits to the U.S. and to boost investor confidence that the government will make a long-term commitment to seeing biodiesel succeed.
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| | West Central Becomes Accredited Under BQ-9000 Program | |
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West Central, a biodiesel producer in Ralston, Iowa, has achieved BQ-9000 accreditation. This producer of SoyPower biodiesel is now a accredited under the National Biodiesel Accreditation Program -- a cooperative and voluntary fuel quality program adopted by both the NBB and the Biodiesel Association of Canada.
“This has been the break-out year of biodiesel demand,” said Joe Jobe, Chief Executive Officer of NBB. “With increasing production and higher volumes of fuel in the marketplace, fuel quality is a top priority for the industry. Biodiesel has a very positive image as a renewable, premium, high performance fuel and we commend leaders in West Central who are taking steps to keep it that way.”
BQ-9000 is a quality assurance program that includes procedures for fuel storage, handling and management aimed at ensuring fuel quality throughout the production and distribution system. The program creates a comprehensive quality system whereby fuel is consistently produced in accordance with ASTM specifications and maintains its quality all the way to the customer’s fuel tank.
“BQ-9000 certification is the guarantee that quality will be there,” said Nile Ramsbottom, West Central's vice president of soy processing and nutrition. “West Central is proud to be accredited as a BQ-9000 manufacturer of high quality biodiesel.”
More information on the BQ-9000 program is available at www.BQ-9000.org.
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| | AGE Refinery Becomes First to Offer Biodiesel Blend in U.S. | |
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Petroleum distributors can now purchase a blend of biodiesel directly from an oil refinery. AGE Refining, Inc., an independent refinery based in San Antonio, Tex., announced it now offers B20, 20 percent biodiesel blended with 80 percent diesel fuel.
The AGE Refining product will contain two premium products – sulfur free, soybean based biodiesel, provided by Houston-based Gulf Hydrocarbon Inc., and AGE's premium diesel. The company says it wants to fill petroleum distributors’ increased demand for biodiesel. Texas has reduced its state fuel excise tax on biodiesel. State excise tax on a gallon of B20 is reduced from 20 cents/gallon to 16 cents/gallon.
The availability at a refinery means petroleum distributors can purchase B20 straight from the rack, reducing transportation costs and increasing productivity. The B20 fuel will be available from petroleum distributors throughout South Texas.
Glen Gonzalez, Executive Vice President, AGE Refining, Inc., said “We are committed to providing a competitively priced, environmentally friendly biodiesel that is convenient and easy to transport. AGE Refining’s ability to offer B20 underscores our mission: a commitment to the environment that equals our commitment to producing high quality fuels.”
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| | North Carolina Hospital First in Nation to Install B20 Pump | |
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 Pitt County Memorial Hospital (PCMH) in Greenville, N.C. May 23 dedicated its pump to dispense a B20 blend of biodiesel, making it the first hospital in the nation to install its own biodiesel fueling station. The hospital joins a growing number of health care providers and emergency service operators across the country powering their diesel vehicles with biodiesel.
“The American Lung Association of North Carolina is delighted to be part of this event heralding the conversion of emergency vehicles at Pitt Memorial to biodiesel,” said American Lung Association of North Carolina President and Chief Executive Officer Deborah C. Bryan. “In that vehicles are still the single biggest source of air pollution, which accounts for about 60,000 premature deaths each year, this conversion from a major health provider sets a tremendous precedent in our state and the country for using alternative fuels and reducing emissions. We encourage other hospitals to follow their lead.’
PCMH will provide B20 (a blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel) to their vehicles as well as other emergency equipment in the area. “As the first hospital in the country to install a biodiesel fueling station, PCMH continues its commitment to the health of this region,” said Dave McRae, CEO of University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina, a regional healthcare network that includes Pitt County Memorial Hospital. “This step provides an innovative and cost-effective way for us to support the health of our residents and the environment,” he added.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s comprehensive technical report of biodiesel emissions data shows the exhaust emissions of particulate matter from pure biodiesel are about 47 percent lower than overall particulate matter emissions from diesel. Breathing particulate has been shown to be a human health hazard. Biodiesel emissions also reduce by 80 to 90 percent potential cancer-causing compounds called Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitrated PAH.
Other health care providers and emergency service operations using B20 include: St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, Calif.; The Osage, Mo. Ambulance District; Chapel Hill, N.C. Fire Department; Salisbury, N.C. fire trucks; Wake County, N.C. ambulances, fire trucks and light duty diesel trucks; and the some of the City of Clayton, Missouri’s fire trucks and ambulances.
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| | East Coast Marine Users Turn to Biodiesel | |
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First Mid-Atlantic Marina Offers Biodiesel
More boaters on the East Coast now have the opportunity to fill their diesel tanks with cleaner burning fuel, and at a more competitive price. Thanks in part to efforts by the soybean checkoff and Delaware Soybean Board, the Indian River Marina in Delaware Seashore State Park-Rehoboth Beach on May 9 announced it is the first marina in the mid-Atlantic region to offer soy biodiesel to government and commercial marine fleets, as well as to private boat owners.
United Soybean Board Treasurer Eric Niemann, a Kansas soybean producer who attended a kick off event, said the availability of soy biodiesel at the marina is made possible partly through the soybean checkoff’s Biobased Products Initiative, which promotes the environmental and economic advantages of using soy-based products such as biodiesel. “Soy biodiesel burns cleaner than diesel fuel so the smell and the soot are reduced and the clean up and boat maintenance are made much easier. So, we see this as a real benefit to boaters. It reduces our dependence on foreign oil. It’s a home-grown, renewable product that really benefits not only the U.S. soybean producer, but also the consumer here in America.”
Niemann encourages boaters in Delaware to ask for biodiesel when they fill up at their marinas, and added that soybean farmers hope to increase the availability of soy biodiesel at marinas serving other scenic waterways around the country.
North Carolina Cruising on Biodiesel
A harbor tour may never have smelled so sweet. Good Ol’ Days Harbor Tours in Elizabeth City, N.C., started using biodiesel in their historical harbor tours in North Carolina almost two months ago. Their already ecologically minded tour now has the environmental advantage of running on pure biodiesel fuel from Lowry Oil Company.
“Everybody likes the way it smells. It doesn’t smell like a Greyhound bus anymore; it smells like I’m cooking french fries,” said Capt. Forrest Turner. He also said they like the fuel because it supports the domestic and farm economy and is better for the environment.
Turner’s partner, Capt. William Blanchard, is a mechanic who told Turner about the fuel. They started using B10 and advanced to B100. “The boat really runs great,” said Turner. “My partner said, ‘It may just be my imagination, but I think it runs better on biodiesel than it does on diesel.’”
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| | ABF Producing Biodiesel from Used Restaurant Oils | |
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American Biofuels, LLC (ABF), announced in May that it is producing biodiesel at its biodiesel plant in Bakersfield, Calif., from used restaurant waste oils.
Bakersfield is one of the worst air quality districts in the U.S., and 20 percent of the children in Bakersfield have breathing problems by age 10, said Joseph LaStella, President of Green Star Products, Inc., which owns 35 percent of the company.
ABF sponsored and contracted with a newly established company called Safe Environmental Alternatives (SEA), which collects waste cooking oil from restaurants. LaStella said “SEA has signed up over 80 restaurants and other baking facilities in Bakersfield and surrounding towns in the past four months including independently owned, well known chains and privately owned establishments in the area.” SEA is rapidly expanding its collection program and will soon be collecting waste oils from Fresno.
ABF has been producing biodiesel at its Bakersfield plant since 2003, mainly from soybean oil, and has recently increased the Bakersfield plant capacity to handle larger quantities of waste cooking oils, the company said.
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| | Nebraska and Iowa Laws Encourage Use of Biodiesel | |
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Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman set an executive order May 20 directing all state agencies that use fleet vehicles to require state employees to fuel them with E85 ethanol and biodiesel fuel whenever available. The State of Nebraska has more than 2,400 diesel vehicles, pieces of equipment or refueling tanks. The order also requires the Nebraska Transportation Services Bureau and the Department of Roads to take steps to increase the access to these fuels for drivers of these vehicles.
“My hope is that in leading by example, the state will send a message to retailers, car manufacturers and drivers that buying alternative fuels is a mainstream pursuit, ripe with economic opportunity for Nebraska,” said Gov. Heineman, who made his announcement at the Bosselman Pump and Pantry in Kearney, one of the few fueling stations statewide where drivers can buy E10, E85 and 2 percent biodiesel.
“We are pleased the Governor has recognized the increasing importance of biodiesel to soybean producers and our environment,” said Victor Bohuslavsky of the Nebraska Soybean Board. “This order is an important step in the continued growth of Nebraska biodiesel.”
B2 biodiesel is available at more than 200 stations in Nebraska. According to a recent survey cited by the Soybean Board, more than 60 percent of Nebraska’s agricultural producers use biodiesel.
The same date, Grow Iowa Values Fund legislation passed, which will increase the use of renewable fuels like biodiesel.
“This is good news for Iowa’s biodiesel industry,” said Curt Sindergard, president of the Iowa Soybean Association and farmer from Rolfe, Iowa. “This was a joint partnership between the corn and soybean associations to work with Iowa’s legislators to pass a bill that will improve the infrastructure and increase availability of our homegrown renewable fuels. This will benefit not only our growers, but also Iowa’s economy and the environment.”
The measure creates a cost-share grant program for the installation or conversion of infrastructure required to establish on-site and off-site terminals that store biodiesel for distribution. The biodiesel cost-share grants will be awarded in $50,000 grants, which is about half the conversion cost for terminals to switch to biodiesel. The cost-share program will begin July 1, 2005.
Iowa currently produces about 25 million gallons of fuel at three plants. Output will nearly double to 50 million gallons when a fourth biodiesel plant in Wall Lake, Iowa begins operating later this year. There are now 52 biodiesel retail-fueling sites and more than 350 biodiesel distributors in the state.
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| | Clif Bar and Tour de Sol Events Feature Biodiesel | |
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 Clif Bar and Co., an all-natural energy and nutrition foods company, set off on its second annual Natural Energy Tour today fueled by 100 percent biodiesel. The four-month trip throughout the eastern United States will promote the use of renewable energy. Biodiesel supplier World Energy Alternatives will donate the fuel to the tour.
Two Clif Bar ambassadors will drive a biodiesel-fueled vehicle from Washington, DC to Boston, Mass. with many stops, including jaunts west, in between. The Natural Energy Tour concludes September 30 in Boston. Featured stops along the way include the Boston and New York Triathlons, a pro cycling tour in Philadelphia, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tenn.
“Global warming is the biggest environmental issue facing our planet,” said Clif Bar Lifestyle Marketing Supervisor Grady O’Shaughnessy. “Clif Bar recognizes the importance of educating consumers about the issue -- and how clean renewable energy and the use of alternative fuels fit into the equation.”
Through the purchase of wind energy credits from NativeEnergy, the entire tour will be certified climate neutral. For more information on the Natural Energy Tour and a schedule of tour stops, please visit www.clifbar.com.
Biodiesel Top Performer at Tour de Sol
During the National 2005 Tour de Sol in mid-May, two student teams, from Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, and West Philadelphia High School in Philadelphia, PA, took top honors with their purpose-built hybrid vehicles, which use biodiesel instead of gasoline and produce 85% less climate-change emissions compared to a conventional 27 MPG gas car.
At the 17th annual sustainable-energy and transportation festival and competition, more than 60 biofuel, hybrid and electric vehicles from throughout the U.S. and Canada demonstrated that we have the technology today to power our transportation system with zero-oil consumption and zero climate-change emissions.
Biodiesel was a top performer in the events. At the Monte Carlo-style Rally - minimum 150 mile range, a biodiesel Volkswagen Passat driven by Jonathan Bartlett of Sterling, MA, delivered 77 miles per gallon (MPG). The average of the five biodiesel vehicles in the event was nearly 53 MPG, including the 20 MPG average of the Ford F250 pickup truck entered by Vogelbilt Corp. in West Babylon, N.Y. Three top-placing teams - West Philadelphia High School, Quebec Advanced Transportation Institute (ITAQ) in Saint-Jerome, Quebec, Canada, and Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash. - demonstrated incredibly low greenhouse-gas emissions by running their vehicles on biodiesel. The ITAQ entry got 67 MPG in a Mercedes SMART diesel vehicle.
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| | Enhanced Biodiesel Store Open for Business, Offers AFI Subscriptions | |
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 The upgraded Biodiesel Store, for purchasing biodiesel merchandise, is up and running at http://store.biodiesel.org. In addition to new items, the e-commerce site has an eye-catching new layout, easy-to-navigate menus, product ratings and help options. The home page has timely featured items and NBB member discounts.
New at the Biodiesel Store is the opportunity to subscribe to the Alternative Fuels Index newsletter. The Alternative Fuels Index is read by over 4000 different organizations each week and is used by a variety of states to benchmark major alt fuel contracts.
Published by the Energy Management Institute, the Alternative Fuels Index report is the only weekly benchmark that focuses on the current wholesale price of seven alternative fuel products, including biodiesel. In addition to the index, the AFI report delivers news from the marketplace. Coverage includes: industry commentary relating to supply, price, policy and news, detailed and accurate prices and trend analysis at the wholesale level, and, refined products cost comparisons.
Subscribe now
Read a sample issue
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| | Clean School Bus Grant Opportunity Through July | |
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) has issued a Clean School Bus grant notice. During the last two years, several school districts nationwide have received funding for the use of biodiesel, including 12 school districts in the Denver metropolitan area.
The notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from school districts, including federally recognized Indian tribes which operate schools, for retrofit and/or replacement projects that reduce pollution from school buses through the use of EPA verified or certified and/or California Air Resources Board verified pollution reduction technologies.
The OAR web site for this is www.epa.gov/air/grants_funding.html, and the Clean School Bus announcement is at www.epa.gov/oar/grants/05-13.pdf.
The due date for "intent to apply" is June 24, and application deadline is July 22.
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