Salt Lake City Retail Biodiesel Pump Opens

Salt Lake City Retail Biodiesel Pump Opens

"...the pump opening in Utah signifies a growing market in other Western states."

- Joseph P. LaStella, P.E., President of Green Star Products

Bakersfield, California - September 2, 2004 [SolarAccess.com] Biodiesel is slowly gaining acceptance and widespread use across the United States. While the domestic fuel, sourced from renewable resources, is often priced at a premium, a pump station in Utah is now selling a two percent biodiesel blend (B-2) at the same price as regular diesel.

Even though there are more than 300 pumps nationwide selling biodiesel, this is the first time in the United States that a biodiesel blend has been offered at regular diesel prices, according to the National Biodiesel Board. The organization said this is also the first retail fueling station in the Salt Lake City area to make biodiesel available to its diesel customers. The station - Dal Soglio Sinclair in Midvale, Utah - recently began selling a two percent blend of soy biodiesel for the same price as regular petroleum diesel.

"This is just a beginning step toward cleaner emissions, better lubrication, and reduced dependence on foreign oil," said Station owner Steve Dal Solglio.

In addition to the B2 being sold at the pump, higher percentage blends (up to B100) will be offered to bulk users.

American Bio-Fuels (ABF) of Bakersfield, California and partner GreenStar Intermountain, are providing the biodiesel to the station. A grant from Salt Lake Clean Cities supported the project.

"Biodiesel growth has been strong in many states, including California where our plant is, but the pump opening in Utah signifies a growing market in other Western states," said Joseph P. LaStella, P.E., President of Green Star Products, Inc. and Co-Managing Director of American Biofuels.

Biodiesel is a cleaner-burning fuel that can be made from any fat or vegetable oil, such as soybean oil, and has similar horsepower, fuel economy and performance to conventional diesel. It can be used in any diesel engine with few or no modifications. The fuel can be used in its pure form (B100), or blended with petroleum diesel at any level, such as two percent (B2).

Most users of biodiesel are large fleet customers. More than 400 U.S. fleets currently use it commercially, including all four branches of the military, dozens of school districts, Yellowstone National Park and several city bus systems. Agricultural use is also a growing market in the off-road sector. Soybean farmers have invested millions of checkoff dollars in bringing biodiesel into commercial success. Today, it is the fastest growing alternative fuel in America, according to the Biodiesel board.

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