A bill that would require all state vehicles in New Hampshire that run on diesel to have a percentage of biodiesel in the mix has passed that state’s House and is moving to the Senate.
This story in the Nashua Telegraph says the legislation also includes the heating oil used for state buildings:
The bill requires the commissioners of the Department of Transportation and the Division of Plant and Property Management to purchase fuels that contain 5 percent biodiesel.
It was sponsored by Rep. David Borden, D-New Castle, who is chairman of the state Biodiesel Commission. Recently, the bill was voted out of the Transportation Committee with a recommendation that it ought to pass.
“HB 1631 went through the House without a hitch being on the consent calendar. We are hoping it will have no trouble with the Senate,” Borden said.
“The way things are going now, if oil keeps going up, it’s very likely biodiesel will become very competitive,” he said. “It does lengthen engine life, so the purchasers for state agencies may decide it’s worth it even if they have to pay a small premium.”
There is a clause that allows the state to opt out of buying the biodiesel if it is cost-prohibitive. But it says the purchasing director must also consider biodiesel’s benefits, such as longer engine use, when figuring up the cost.
A new biodiesel plant that is being touted as Arkansas’ first and only biodiesel refinery with its own on-site crusher will open on Tuesday.
According to Tyner, the fixed 51-cent per gallon subsidy paid to ethanol producers will become increasingly expensive for the federal government as oil prices and levels of ethanol production continue to rise.
One hundred years after the original 1908 event designed to show the world how dependable automobiles could be, the 2008 Great Race will feature vehicles running on alternative fuels, such as biodiesel, ethanol, and even solar power.
This time around, the field will consist of a motley mix of vintage and new cars, including a 1904 Thomas Flyer and a 1941 Willys Jeep. They will rub fenders, metaphorically speaking, with various vehicles running alternative fuels — in an attempt to prove these new technologies by forging them in the crucible of a high-endurance test. Think Range Rovers on biodiesel, a multi-fuel-capable Aston Martin DB6 and a 2007 Buell Ulysses motorbike on E85 ethanol.
This is one of the most unique things I’ve seen in just more than a year of blogging for Domestic Fuel: a sports utility vehicle (SUV) that has its own biodiesel refinery in the back!