by Wendy Skinner

Several large users of diesel fuel in Tompkins County have committed to buying more than half a million gallons of biodiesel in 2007. Using the fuel will result in slightly lower engine emissions.

Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT), the Ithaca City School District, Tompkins County, Cornell University, and other not-for-profit and public sector buyers have sent word to New York State that they will commit to a total purchase of 561,000 gallons of five percent biodiesel fuel. Commercially blended biodiesel is not currently available in Tompkins County in quantities needed by the larger fleets. The purchase commitment allows the state to issue a bid to suppliers, who will bring the fuel here.

Last month, Cornell senior and sustainability intern Ethan Rainwater invited local users of bulk fuel to a presentation about buying and using biodiesel. Rainwater’s leadership led to the two-year purchase commitment, which will start in August 2007. The fuel is a blend of ninety-five percent petroleum diesel and five percent soy-based fuel. Known as B5, the blend is less widely available than regular diesel and costs more per gallon.

Biodiesel can be purchased through the state as a five percent or twenty percent blend. At this time, the five percent blend is easier to incorporate because it does not require separate or new storage tanks, is not cold-sensitive, and–unlike 100 percent biofuel–does not require engine conversion.

“B5 is a comfortable way to start a transition, and working together makes changes like this one easier for everyone,” said Rainwater.

The buyers who have committed to buying the fuel are:

• TCAT, 200,000 gallons per year
• Ithaca City School District, 178,000 gallons per year
• Tompkins County Public Works, 75,000 gallons per year
• Cornell University Facilities, 40,000 gallons per year
• Town of Ithaca Public Works, 34,000 gallons per year
• City of Ithaca, 32,000 gallons per year
• Cornell Farm Services, 2,000 gallons per year, plus 10,000 gallons of B20

The B5 purchase is significant in the message it sends and in supporting the growing biodiesel industry. State sources report an expected price premium of an additional 10 to 20 cents per gallon, but similar commitments elsewhere have brought the price down.

“We won’t know until the state bid comes in exactly how much more the B5 will cost, but we’ve been told that a large commitment will help lower the overall per-gallon price for everyone,” said TCAT’s general manager Joe Turcotte. Each of the buyers is willing to potentially pay more for the cleaner fuel, in recognition of the environmental benefits, said Rainwater.

To recoup some of the cost, the purchasers are considering banding together to apply for funds from the Clean Cities program sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE). This program has been established to encourage use of biodiesel and ultra-low-sulphur vehicles and could result in grants, funding, and recognition.

For more information on biodiesel:

National Biodiesel Board: http://www.biodiesel.org  

DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center: http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/afv/bio_vehicles.html