Biodiesel is fuel of the future

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Co-ops, condos and homeowners can save money and help keep our air cleaner by switching their heating oil to biodiesel fuel.

Car owners who have diesel engines can also save money by switching to biodiesel. 

New York City government rules require that all buildings switch to cleaner burning fuels, starting in 2012.   Any building considering use of #2 heating oil can save money.  

“Number two heating oil is diesel fuel,” said Dehran Duckworth, part-owner of Tri-State Biodiesel, a Hunts Point-based company that manufactures and distributes biodiesel. So, if buildings use biodiesel fuel instead of the traditional #2 diesel fuel, they can receive a 20 cent cut per gallon on their New York State taxes, Duckworth said. 

“Biodiesel is cheaper than regular heating oil and it’s better for the environment,” Duckworth said.

“Seventy-five percent of the pollution in the city is caused by heating oil,” he said. “Biodiesel does not produce soot.”  Soot is one of the main causes of asthma in young children and lung and health problems for everyone (source: Sierra Club).

Using biodiesel instead of #2 diesel fuel does not require a conversion, Duckworth explained.  “Buildings and homeowners can simply fill their tanks with the fuel.”

Some car owners can obtain tax savings of anywhere from eight to ten cents a gallon when they fill up on biodiesel.  Any car with a diesel engine that switches to biodiesel can save 20 percent on their state fuel taxes when they fill up.

Diesel cars that could benefit from biodiesel use include Mercedes, Volkswagen and BMW.  Additionally, more U.S. car makers are beginning to offer diesel vehicles, such as Dodge, newer Jeeps and Ford F-350 heavy-duty pick up trucks, Duckworth said. 

“New York City is now the largest purchaser of biodiesel in the country,” Duckworth explained.  The New York City Parks and Sanitation departments use the fuel in their vehicles. 

The fuel, which comes from cooking and soybean oils, can be obtained from Tri-State Biodiesel or other biodiesel distributers.  Tri-State makes biodiesel heating oil deliveries directly to commercial customers. As for vehicles, diesel car and truck users can go to Tri-State’s fuel facility in Hunts Point and simply fill up there.  If that’s not convenient, drivers can find a biodiesel dealer for their vehicle at Biodiesel.org.  Some dealers in the New York area include Schildwachter & Sons Oil (on Ferris Place in the Bronx), Metro Fuel Oil (Kingsland Avenue in Brooklyn), Woolley Fuel (in Maplewood, NJ), Sunoco ZSA Petroleum (Spring Valley, NY), Croton-on-Hudson Gulf and Village Service Station (Pound Ridge Road in Bedford).

Biodiesel is the fuel of the future, for apartments, homes, cars and trucks. It costs less and it’s better for our air and climate. 

Mike Gold lives and works in the Bronx

biodiesel, Mike Gold

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