The original diesel engine didn't run on
petroleum-based diesel fuel at all. When the
European inventor Rudolph Diesel unveiled it
in 1900, the revolutionary new engine ran on
peanut oil -- in no small part to make a farsighted
social and political point.
"The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem
insignificant today," Diesel explained, "but such oils may
become in the course of time as important as petroleum and
the coal tar products of the present time."
More than a century later, there are finally signs that
Diesel's vision of an alternative bio-fuel supply is coming to
fruition: "Biodiesel" -- derived from soybeans, recycled
cooking fats, canola, corn, cotton, mustard, peanuts, sunflowers,
and myriad other sources (even lard) -- is beginning
to serve as an additive or a replacement for petrodiesel.
This is a welcome development. The U.S. economy's
heavy reliance on petroleum-based fuels is increasingly a
national security concern, because we are largely dependent
on oil-supplying countries whose interests do not always
coincide with our own. The petro-economy is also a pressing
environmental concern, because tailpipe exhaust is a
major contributor to the degradation of our air quality and
to global climate change.
Biodiesel, by contrast, is infinitely renewable, relatively
clean burning, and safe to handle, and it can be produced in
abundance on American soil. It even smells good -- most people
compare its fumes to popcorn or french fries. Diesel
engines built after 1992 can use it with essentially no modification.
It can be used "straight," or blended with petrodiesel.
The most common blend, called B20, is 20 percent biodiesel,
80 percent petrodiesel.
Thanks largely to actions taken by the federal government,
an estimated 25 million gallons of biodiesel were sold in the
United States in 2003, up from 500,000 gallons four years
earlier. The federal push began in 1992, when Congress passed
the Energy Policy Act (EPAct), requiring private-sector companies
and government agencies with fleets of at least 50
heavy-duty trucks or vehicles to begin using cleaner-burning
alternatives to petrodiesel. But rather than replace their fleets,
as the law required, operators quickly realized it would be
cheaper to run their existing rigs, without modification, on
biodiesel. Congress later amended the EPAct to give credits
toward the vehicle-replacement mandate for every 450 gallons
of pure or blended biodiesel that operators use.
President Clinton further spurred the use of biodiesel
with a series of executive orders
requiring federal fleets to cut their
petroleum consumption. In May of
this year, President Bush extended
that policy to include off-road diesel
vehicles such as bulldozers, farm
tractors, locomotives, and ships.
A whirlwind of state and local
public policy, along with commercial
activity, has all been aimed at
advancing the use of biodiesel fuel
in the United States.
In my home state of Delaware, we recently broke ground
on the first biodiesel refinery in the Mid-Atlantic region. With
backing from the state and federal governments, the $8.3 million
facility will provide a new market for our many soybean
farms, while also contributing to a cleaner environment.
Other biodiesel plants have already opened or are in the works
in Mississippi, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota.
Greensboro, N.C., has, meanwhile, converted its 750-
vehicle fleet of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and other
government vehicles to run on B20. Dozens of other states,
cities, counties, government agencies, and businesses have
also begun trials with biodiesel or completed the full-scale
conversion of their fleets.
Minnesota mandated that by June 2005 all diesel fuel sold
in the state contain at least 2 percent biodiesel. Similar legislation
has been introduced in Ohio. Arkansas, Hawaii, Illinois,
and North Dakota have cut taxes on biodiesel. Iowa created a
revolving fund to enable the state transportation department
to buy biodiesel for its vehicles. Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana,
and Washington state have created tax breaks and other incentives
to jump-start biodiesel production.
So far, biodiesel has mainly been used in heavy machinery.
But that may soon change.
With biodiesel production still in its infancy and demand
only just beginning to grow, price has been a major obstacle.
B20 typically costs about 15 cents to 20 cents more per gallon
than conventional diesel. Biodiesel prices also vary widely
by region. But Congress is poised to spur the market. The
Senate has passed a highway bill that would give oil producers
a 1-cent federal excise-tax credit for every percentage point
of biodiesel they blend with petrodiesel. Producers typically
pass such tax cuts along to consumers at the pump. So, if the
bill becomes law, B20 prices at the pump could fall by 20
cents a gallon -- well within the range of conventional diesel.
That would be good news for the environment and our
national security.
