Recently San Francisco opened its first biodiesel fueling station. The station is located at site at the Olympic station at 2690 Third Street (at 23rd St) and will supply commercially licensed diesel vehicles with "B20," a mix of 20% recycled biomass and 80% traditional diesel fuel. Unlike "B100," or 100% biofuel, most commercially sold diesel engines can run on B20 without any adjustment or adaptation.
According to a press release from Office of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom this is the first viable biodiesel fueling station to open in San Francisco. A station supplying B100 existed for a short time in 2001, but there was no market for 100% biofuel at the time.
In addition, at the official launch for San Francisco’s first commercial B20 biodiesel fueling station, Mayor Newsom announced that 39% of the City’s vehicle fleet has converted to use of a biodiesel blend (ahead of the 25% goal expected by this point) and 100% of Norcal Recycling/Waste Management’s fleet has converted to the use of biodiesel. Mayor Newsom also announced a new program beginning this Fall that will pick up waste oil from the City’s restaurants and recycle it as biodiesel for the City’s fleet.
For more information:
- Mayor Newsom Launches San Francisco's First Biodiesel Fueling Station (Office of the SF Mayor)
- San Francisco Opens First Commercial B20 Biodiesel Station (CNET News.com; includes link to photo gallery)
- San Francisco Biofuels Cooperative
- National Biodiesel Board
- Biodiesel (U.S. Department of Energy)
- Alternative Fuels and Hybrid Cars (EvolveShopping.com)
