14-03-05
If fans of biodiesel get their way, 2005 will be the first year in which
thousands of drivers fill their tanks with the increasingly popular alternative
to petroleum diesel at a network of public fuelling stations. That marks a change from the way many co-ops have operated in the past --
often in secret, and without legal permits. By going straight, the co-ops hope
to improve their image as well as educate and attract investors, the public and
government agencies. Piedmontat the moment operates a small plant for its members on the back
porch of a double-wide mobile home. The plant is capable of producing "a
couple of hundred gallons per week, depending on how motivated the people
are," said Estill. Piedmont, which is in a rural area, has always kept its operations public.
But in cities, where zoning laws can be very strict, biodiesel co-ops tend to
organize "below the radar" of regulators, said Maria Alovert, a
Berkeley, California, activist who teaches classes on making biodiesel. Anyone
wanting to sell biodiesel to the public must also get approval from state and
federal environmental agencies, Alovert said. But some city co-ops want to become more visible in their communities. In
places like Boston, Atlanta and Asheville, North Carolina, they aim to make
automobile traffic less polluting and to provide an alternative to expensive
home heating oil. But co-op owners will have to convince code-enforcement officials they can
make the fuel without harming themselves and others.
Source: Wired NewsBiodiesel increasingly popular
Biodiesel co-op members will get a discount on the fuel, which is derived from
natural fats and oils. But drivers of any diesel vehicles will be welcome,
according to entrepreneurs hoping to establish biodiesel plants and filling
stations in their communities.
"You can't go and speak to the DOE if you aren't legal," said Lyle
Estill, vice president of Piedmont Biofuels, a biodiesel co-op in Pittsboro,
North Carolina. Estill writes a weblog that includes an account of his recent
wrangling with the local fire marshal.
Piedmont is planning to open a new facility, capable of turning out a million
gallons of biodiesel annually. Estill is working to secure permits for the
plant, a process he expects will not be simple.
"It's against the law for people to sell fuel or fuel additives to the
public without registering with the EPA," said Alovert. "That is a
difficult process for small-scale producers to go through."
"It's very important that we are able to locate our facility in the city,
where people live," said Kris Smith, director of the Positive Energy
Foundation, a co-op forming in Atlanta. While there's no need for the fuel to be
produced in a densely populated area, it does need to be distributed in one, he
said. Biodiesel producers also prefer to be close to a concentration of
restaurants that can donate the old vegetable oil from which the fuel is
commonly made.
"You may need to be working in a room with proper ventilation, or with
explosion-proof fittings," said Capt. Maurice Mahoney, head of the Special
Hazards Division at the Boston Fire Department. "If it's not done properly,
I can see someone blowing up their garage one day, or their basement."