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For Immediate Release |
Military Bases, NASA and Postal Service to Use Environmentally Friendly Biodiesel |
Government Procurement Makes Obtainment Of Biodiesel Easier Than Ever for Federal Fleets |
WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Nov. 2 -/E-Wire/-- The U.S. government has taken a step in the direction of increasing domestic energy security by using more domestically produced, renewable fuel within federal government agencies. The Defense Energy Support Center (DESC) will make an environmentally friendly fuel called biodiesel available at 17 government sites throughout the U.S. The move streamlines the federal procurement process and allows government fleets to obtain biodiesel just as easily as petroleum diesel through DESC services.
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Federal government biodiesel users taking part in the program include several military bases such as the National Park Service; the U.S. Postal Service in Manhattan, New York; the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Arboretum; the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA); Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in North Carolina and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego. The U.S. military services will use biodiesel in commercial administrative vehicles.
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The quantity of fuel procured under the DESC solicitation is about 1.5 million gallons of B20 (20% biodiesel/80% diesel). Both military and civilian fleets will be able to attain B20 at various fueling sites throughout the country. Although the DESC is a component of the Department of Defense, it is the recognized expert in the procurement of fuels for both the civilian and military agencies of the federal government. By using the DESC to buy the fuel, all federal government agencies are able to streamline their acquisition process by simply placing orders against the contract entered into by DESC.
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"This is the largest single procurement of biodiesel to date," said Joe Jobe, executive director of the National Biodiesel Board. "It is symbolic of the growing interest in using biodiesel in federal and civilian fleets. It also shows that the U.S. government has confidence in this thoroughly tested fuel that has become one of the fastest-growing alternative fuels according to the Department of Energy."
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Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine, usually with no modifications to the engine necessary. It performs comparably to diesel fuel, with similar cetane and BTU content. It offers excellent lubricity and lower emissions compared to petroleum diesel fuel. More than 100 major fleets currently use biodiesel. Biodiesel can be used to meet Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) purchase requirements of the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) as well as the goals of three Federal Executive Orders to make the government more "green." (more) One agency using biodiesel to earn AFV credits is the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Maryland. "We use B20 in more than 150 diesel engines that range from farm tractors to large generators to trucks, including one bus and even one Humvee," said John Van de Vaarst, Director of Facilities Management and Operations. "We find biodiesel to be as reliable and dependable as regular diesel fuel, and it's so easy to make the switch," he said.
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Biodiesel is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a fuel and fuel additive. It is the only alternative fuel to have passed the rigorous Health Effects testing requirements of the Clean Air Act. Results show biodiesel reduces carcinogenic air toxics by 75-90% compared to diesel. The results, submitted to the EPA in 2000, also show biodiesel is non-toxic, biodegradable and free of sulfur. Emissions it reduces include particulate matter, unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and sulfates. B100 (pure biodiesel) also reduces lifecycle carbon dioxide by 78% compared to petroleum diesel according to DOE research.
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World Energy Alternatives (www.worldenergy.net) of Cambridge, Mass. was awarded the contracts for 17 locations within the United States under the DESC solicitation.
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Readers can learn more about biodiesel by visiting http://www.biodiesel.org. The National Biodiesel Board is funded in part by the United Soybean Board and state soybean board checkoff programs.
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