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A two-year-long study is showing that biodiesel is as good as regular diesel for over-the-road trucks.

The “2 Million Mile Haul”… halfway through the study at this point… is looking at the benefits of using 20 percent biodiesel blend (B20) and is being conducted by the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) in partnership with Iowa Central Community College, Decker Truck Line Inc., Caterpillar Inc., the National Biodiesel Board, Renewable Energy Group, Inc. and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This story on the Energy Current web site says it’s believed this is the first comprehensive, publicly-documented demonstration of B20 in big rigs:

“The trucking industry is by far the single largest consumer of diesel fuel, using 38 billion gallons annually,” said Grant Kimberley, ISA director of market development. “This study demonstrates in a real-world environment that biodiesel can be used successfully year-round.”

Don Heck, coordinator of biotechnology and biofuels programs at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa, said, “Although we have data from only the first year of the study, we are pleased with the results to date. Preliminary results are that B20 biodiesel performs similarly to 100 percent diesel. We found a slight decrease in overall fuel efficiency for the B20 group of trucks, but it was not statistically significant. In fact, the difference was several times smaller than the driver-to-driver variability in fuel efficiency within each group.”

More than 1.5 million miles had been logged by the end of the first year, from Oct. 1, 2006 to Oct. 1, 2007. Overall fuel efficiency, including idle time, was slightly reduced in the B20 group. Average fuel consumption for the control group was 6.29 miles per gallon (mpg) and for the B20 group it was 6.15 mpg. The fuel efficiency difference of 2.2 percent between groups is not considered significant, especially when compared to driver variability.

Proponents of biodiesel believe the test will help the commercial credibility of the green fuel.

The developer of what will be the world’s biggest biodiesel plant… if it gets built… has been hit with another lawsuit, the second one this year.

Smiling Earth Energy has plans to build a 320-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant along the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. But the company has had its troubles recently, including a lawsuit by an Oregon biodiesel company for failing to provide the promised $310 million in financing for a West Coast biodiesel plant… and then refusing to return a $100,000 deposit to the Oregon company (see my October 29, 2007 post). Now, Smiling Earth is being hit with a lawsuit by a handful of people who loaned $250,000 to the California company, accusing it of fraud, breach of contract, and racketeering. This story in the Virginian-Pilot has more:

The federal lawsuit accuses Smiling Earth, which is planning the world’s largest biodiesel plant in Chesapeake, of promising “investment returns” on the loans but never giving any of the money back. The plaintiffs are seeking damages of about $2 million.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of two Utah residents, Rick Foy and Jenni Braunberger, and a California couple, Dean and Deborah Lane, according to court documents.

The litigation says Smiling Earth continually promised the investors they would get their money back with investment returns.

“Here’s the rub with a mandate. We can mandate that people have to buy biodiesel. It doesn’t create vegetable oil” Those are the words of John Campbell, vice president of Omaha-based Ag Processing, Inc.

It might seem a bit strange coming from a guy who works for a biodiesel-producing and selling company. But this article from the Des Moines (IA) Register says Campbell questions whether the mandate makes sense, given the soaring price of biodiesel’s major feedstock, soybean oil:

With farmers increasing corn acreage to make more ethanol, the price of soybean oil has been in the stratosphere this year, reaching as high as 45 cents a pound, an increase of more than 10 cents since this spring. And, of course, the energy bill requires more usage of corn ethanol each year at the same time it mandates the increased biodiesel consumption.

The bill would allow the mandate to be reduced if feedstock costs make the fuel too expensive.

The article goes on to say that subsidies will get progressively more expensive as the biofuels mandate, or renewable fuel standard, continues to grow. But Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association, is quick to say let’s get the RFS passed, and then we can talk about tax incentives. Biodiesel advocates also point out that the mandate will help promote the development of new biodiesel feedstocks.

There’s been plenty of talk about using biodiesel in our vehicles. But some people might not know that the green fuel is good for keeping your home warm on these cold winter nights.

This story in the Eugene (OR) Register-Guard says one company in that area has overwhelming support for biodiesel as a home-heating oil:

Automatic Heat serves about 2,000 customers with oil furnaces, “and about 85 percent are using biodiesel — it’s pretty much clipping right along,” (Automatic Heat general manager Michael) Schilling said. “We offer our customers a B20 blend of 20 percent biofuel and 80 percent low-sulfur (diesel). We don’t go higher because, like cars, some fuel systems can’t handle more than that without modifications.”

Before Automatic Heat began offering biodiesel heating oil two years ago, “we polled our customers and told them we were considering it,” Schilling said. “At that time, about 70 percent of them said they wanted it, even at premium prices.”

Proponents of oil-burning furnaces point out that they burn hotter and do a better job of warming a home than other fuels, such as natural gas. Plus, with cleaner-burning, low-sulfur diesels mixed biodiesels, the arguments about that sooty, diesel smell fall flat. And if that’s not enough, most home furnaces can easily burn B20 biodiesel, and with approval from a certified home heating technician, 99.9 percent biodiesel can be used.