Five departments of the City of Pocatello, Idaho are making the switch to biodiesel for their fleet of vehicles.

This story from KIFI-TV says the move comes after months of careful planning:

[T]he City of Pocatello has initiated a Biodiesel Pilot Project with a portion of the City’s diesel fleet. The current pilot project will be initially conducted with B20, a mixture of 80 percent No. 2 diesel and 20 percent biodiesel.

Delivery of 7,000 gallons of biodiesel was accepted at the City’s 1st Avenue refueling facility on Wednesday, August 15, 2007.

During cold weather, the biodiesel blend will be reduced to B10 to avoid cold – flow problems. This evaluation process will aid the City in reaching a determination regarding the effectiveness of biodiesel in the City fleet, as well as the costs and benefits associated with using biodiesel for the remainder of City diesel vehicles.

Biodiesel is made at just one plant in Idaho using Midwestern soybean oil, but researchers from the State of Idaho and the University of Idaho are looking to come up with locally produced materials as the feedstock.