Biodiesel Mandate

Biodiesel Mandate. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

The State of Oregon is about to make another statement on how serious it takes renewable energy. This time, it deals with motors that use diesel. Starting next month, with a few exceptions, diesel fuel in nine Oregon counties will be required to contain at least two percent biodiesel. The rest of the state will follow suit later in the fall, says Clark Cooney of the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Measurement Standards Division:

COONEY:  The B2 biodiesel mandate is significant in the state of Oregon because all of the diesel fuel being sold is going to be blended with two percent biodiesel. The only portions that will not be blended is fuel used for railroads, home heating oils, and marine applications.

The most populous areas of Oregon will implement the B2 mandate August fifth with everyone else picking it up by October first. For motorists, the cleaner burning blended diesel should be no big deal when it comes to engine performance.

COONEY:  I would anticipate that the experience of the consumer with a B2 should be insignificant. B2 biodiesel blend is still diesel fuel. It still has to meet the same standards as a straight diesel fuel. There isn't anything that should be significant between the two.

ODA inspectors check motor fuel quantity and quality on a routine basis. Making sure the new biodiesel product meets standards will be part of their job. Along with the recent requirement that gasoline contain at least 10 percent ethanol, Oregon continues to move forward in the area of renewable energy. COONEY says beginning August 1st, there will be a change in Oregon's diesel fuel:

COONEY: Coming soon will be the phase-in of the B2 biodiesel requirement. That's where two percent biodiesel will be blended into all of Oregon's diesel fuel.

Cooney says blended biodiesel in Oregon is not really a new thing. Making it mandatory, however, is:

COONEY: Blended biodiesel has been sold in the State of Oregon for quite some time now. Many businesses have been using it on a voluntary basis, typically in a B20- 20 percent blend. Some are even higher than that.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.