City Vehicles Start to Use Eco-Friendly Biodiesel Fuel
By Gala Pierce
The Batavia City Council embraced the idea of considering the “environmental implications of its actions,” as adopted in a vision statement last March.
In keeping with that promise, public works director Gary Larsen has researched greener ways the city could conduct business.
One way, which would require little modification in the city’s current fleet of vehicles, is to incorporate some biodiesel fuel for its petroleum-powered vehicles. Last December, the city began using 5 percent blend biodegradable fuel derived from soybean, canola or other recycled vegetable oils.
“We’re one of the first communities, I believe, in the state of Illinois to have made the transition to biodiesel and be a green fuel fleet, and I think that’s a really good thing,” Larsen said at last week’s city council meeting.
Other municipalities listed on the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s Bureau of Air initiative called the Illinois Green Fleets Program include Darien, Evanston, Downers Grove, Lake Zurich, Palatine, Skokie and Winnetka.
The program offers grants to agencies and organizations that use renewable fuels such as biodiesel and E85, which is gasoline made from 85 percent ethanol.
Biodiesel boasts lower emissions compared to petroleum diesel and is the only alternative fuel to have passed the U.S. EPA’s requirements of the Clean Air Act, Larsen said. He added that the exhaust emissions of sulfur oxides and sulfates – both major components of acid rain – are essentially eliminated compared to standard diesel fuel.
In 2005, Batavia spent more than $64,500 on diesel fuel. Larsen anticipated an extra annual cost of $5,000 a year to use biodiesel fuel.
“There’s really no dollar savings at all,” he said. “Really this is all about us trying to do what’s right for the environment.”
The city’s fleet of diesel-powered vehicles include snow-removal equipment, utility vehicles, fire engines, backhoes and end- loaders. Police cars could not use the alternative fuel because they run on unleaded gasoline.
Because of warnings that biodiesel can plug the vehicle’s fuel filters, Larsen said the city began with just a 5 percent blend of biodiesel. However, that percentage will be gradually increased to 11 percent and again to 20 percent by the end of the year.
The Illinois Clean Fleet program offers grant money for agencies or organizations that use 20 percent biodiesel fuel for an entire year.
It hasn’t required any modifications to city vehicles, Larsen said. However, the city also has researched E85 fuel, which contains 85 percent ethanol, and it would require that vehicles be ordered as “flex-fueled.” That would cost an additional $200 per vehicle.
“Certainly in the future, this is going to be a trend that more and more municipalities are going to find themselves going to,” Mayor Jeff Schielke said. “Batavia is hopefully one of the leaders in this movement. I’m very proud that we’ve taken the initiative to do it.”
Last of the bridge details: It’s been a long road but city offficials have put the final touches on designs for the Wilson Street bridge reconstruction.
Last week, the city council settled on such details as the pedestrian and road lighting, pavers and crosswalks after the William J. Donovan bridge is rebuilt in 2007.
Aldermen chose a dark bronze color for all of the bridge’s metal elements.
For sidewalks, a mixture of natural stone concrete pavers and scored concrete were selected to blend with the limestone architecture throughout the downtown. Stone pavers also will be installed for the crosswalks areas.
The aldermen chose 14-foot tall aluminum pedestrian light posts. The poles will have arched arms where planters can hang and will be topped with an acrylic acorn-shaped globe.
The roadway lights will stand 30 feet tall. They will feature 400- watt light fixtures, 10-foot curved mast arms with two arched planter arms as well as two banner arms.
– To contact Batavia reporter Gala Pierce, send e-mail to gpierce@@dailyherald.com.