New Haven Independent

The mayor announced at a Monday press conference outside City Hall that the city’s diesel engine vehicles will be propelled on a new fuel made mostly from soybeans. The city has purchased 75,000 gallons each of two fuels — a 50/50 bio-diesel/gasoline blend (better for the summer) and a 10/90 bio-diesel/petroleum blend (better for the winter). No engine modifications are required for the vehicles to use these blends.

The one-year contract with Santa Energy begins June 1, and will help the city towards its goal of reducing carbon emissions 20 percent by 2010. The fuel will be used in about 40 vehicles from the departments of Parks and Recreation, Public Works and Traffic and Parking. “Using bio-diesel, hydrocarbons will be reduced 67 percent of the emissions coming out of the tailpipe,” the mayor said. “What that translates into is that the stuff that annoys our eyes, that we inhale on most days,” is reduced.

The mayor praised the enthusiasm and input from citizens and non-profits to provide leadership in clean energy initiatives, as well as “smart energy companies that are willing to work with us.” He then introduced Tom Santa of Santa Energy (pictured on the left of DeStefano in photo).

“This product solves three major problems,” Santa said. “It’s a domestic energy source; it’s environmentally advantageous; and it’s an additional source of motor fuel.” Click here for an elaboration.

And Lee Grannis, New Haven’s Clean Cities Coordinator, said there’s another plus in the offing. “Before long, you should see some of the product being locally produced. The feedstock won’t come from here but the production will be here. So it means jobs, it means money for Connecticut, the more we use.” He’s pictured holding a vial of 100 percent bio-diesel.

And yet one more advantage. Emily Byrne, the policy analyst in the mayor’s office, said, “Research shows that switching to bio-diesel can result in a savings of up to $30 per tank.” She said direct savings will be realized from the greater number of miles per gallon from bio-diesel, and from saving wear and tear on the engine. Then there are the indirect savings, she said, like health care costs not incurred because the city’s air will be cleaner, with fewer soot particles, which are known triggers of asthma (which is rampant in New Haven).

Lou Mangini from U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro’s office read a statement from her in support of the city’s initiative. (Click here to listen.) He added, “Rosa is the new chairwoman of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, so she has direct budget authority over tax incentives and other things than can be put into the farm bill to promote bio-diesel and bio-fuels.”

Speaking of feedstock, some experts in this field have cautioned that using corn, in particular, to make fuel may consume more energy in bringing the fuel to market than is produced. But that is less of a problem when producing bio-fuel, and less of a problem still when using soybeans as a feedstock rather than corn. Another concern is that using any food crop for fuel in the massive quantities needed to make a dent in petroleum consumption could interfere with grain production for food. Gus Kellogg, of Greenleaf Biofuels, who also attended the press conference, said, “The bio-diesel industry in the U.S. got off the ground because there was a huge increase in demand for soybean meal, and growers needed to find a value-added market for it.” Click here for a more thorough explanation from Kellogg.