A California city has switched to using renewable diesel in its municipal fleet. This story from Patch.com says Walnut Creek in the Bay area is one of the first cities in the area to make the switch.
So far, the conversion has been seamless, Walnut Creek Public Works Manager Rich Payne said.
“We haven’t noticed anything in terms of performance and it didn’t require any retrofitting of our equipment,” Payne said.
The city had been using low-percentage biodiesel, which is blended with petroleum diesel, for its fleet of street sweepers, dump trucks, backhoes, lawn mowers and other equipment, Payne said. Representatives from NeXgen Fuel LLC, which is distributed by Golden Gate Petroleum, approached the city about switching fuels, Payne said.
Renewable diesel is similar to biodiesel in that it is made from the same stock, which include fats, oils and greases, but that’s where the similarities end, said Pat O’Keefe, NeXgen CEO and Vice President of Golden Gate Petroleum. “The process to manufacture it is completely different,” O’Keefe said. “Renewable diesel acts and behaves in the engine just like regular diesel.”
The price for the renewable diesel is on par with regular diesel and about 10 cents per gallon cheaper than biodiesel.