The city of Cary, North Carolina has changed its fleet of diesel vehicles to biodiesel. The city runs about 3.5 million miles a year, and now those miles will be greener.
This story in the Cary (NC) News says 169 diesel vehicles are now running on B20 biodiesel:
“It’s purely trying to reduce our dependency on oil,” (Mike Bajorek, the town’s public works director) said.
The move to biodiesel came after a spike in fuel prices following Hurricane Katrina in late summer 2005.
“We’ve been watching our fuel usage,” Bajorek said.
Data from recent Cary budgets bear that out. In fiscal year 2006, which ran from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006 and included Katrina and its aftermath, the town used 528,209 gallons of fuel.
And the change seems to be saving fuel for the city:
Estimates for fiscal year 2007, which ended June 30, 2007, show an increase to 535,000 gallons, or 1.3 percent, even though the fleet grew by 26 vehicles.
A similarly small increase in fuel usage, along with a similar increase in fleet size is expected for fiscal year 2008, which ends June 30.