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Seeking Support for Use of Biodiesel: On the Rise Nationally, Use of Vegetable Oil Fuel Slow to Catch on Locally

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 May 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Kerry Hall, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

May 10--I pull up to the service station bay around 7 p.m. Monday and park in front of a row of rusting sedans.

George, who organized the evening's meeting, stops tinkering under the hood of a Ford truck and welcomes me inside.

"I'm so glad you could come," he says as he pours sand over fresh oil spots. "We want to get the word out to everyone in Charlotte. What we're a part of here is a real grass-roots movement."

During the past few months, George has held weekly meetings in northwest Charlotte for people interested in biodiesel.

Biodiesel is a vegetable oil-based fuel that can burn in diesel engines and oil-fired home furnaces. It can be made from soy, peanut or canola oil or recycled fryer oil from restaurants. There is no petroleum in it.

Interest in biodiesel has sprouted nationally as energy prices have spiked, giving rise to a cottage industry of people brewing their own fuel. Concern about dwindling energy supplies and reliance on foreign nations has also drawn supporters.

Nationally, biodiesel is the country's fastest growing alternative fuel, with U.S. sales tripling annually to reach 75 million gallons, according to the Energy Department. Still, biodiesel only accounts for 1 percent of diesel fuel sold nationwide, according to the National Biodiesel Board, a trade association.

North Carolina is home to a handful of biodiesel cooperatives, including one in Asheville and another in Burlington. But the movement has been slow to catch on in Charlotte, those familiar with the industry say.

George, who won't give his last name, says the group operates on a first-name basis. It's still only loosely organized and figuring out what it needs to do to comply with regulations.

He wants to create a cooperative where members invest time and money in exchange for fuel. Attendance at his weekly meetings has varied, he says. Once, 16 people came. On Monday, five did, excluding me. Attendees bring their own chairs.

It's hard to find biodiesel supporters, and startup cash, in a banking town, George says, adding "you can't get the money because it's not mainstream."

George learned about biodiesel a year and a half ago when he attended a seminar on the topic sponsored by Central Carolina Community College and Piedmont Biofuels, both in Pittsboro.

Conference sponsors hooked him up with fellow biodiesel enthusiasts Melvin and Stuart, also in the Charlotte area. Together, the three men invested about $5,000 to build a prototype biodiesel processor.

"I love the idea of taking what is currently a waste product and turning it into something useful," George says.

At Monday's meeting, the five attendees, all men, arrange chairs in a circle inside the service station bay. George, a muscular man with tanned, grease-stained hands, gray curls and brown eyes, sits on a bar stool.

I ask people why they came.

All said they want to save money on energy costs. They also like the idea of creating their own fuel, of not being dependent on Big Oil. Jim, a retiree sporting a rugby shirt, says his curiosity simply was piqued when he read a flyer advertising the meeting.

Dave, who owns his own sales business, spends $80 a day on petroleum diesel. "Because I'm self-employed, it's killing me," he says. Excluding startup costs, people can make biodiesel for between 50 cents and $1.50 a gallon, according to Blue Ridge Biofuels, the Asheville cooperative.

Lowell, who drives a gasoline-powered pickup, says he started paying serious attention to biodiesel when fuel prices spiked last year. He plans on driving to Charleston this weekend to pick up a diesel Suburban, "a real truck," which he will repair himself.

"I'd love to just go offline," he says.

Don, the youngest of the group with wavy blond hair, adds: "I like not having to pay a tax on fuel." (The government taxes biodiesel sold at retail.)

George starts the meeting explaining how he learned of biodiesel. Oil rhythmically drips from a nearby truck into a pan while gasoline fumes waft by. We walk to the back of the service station bay.

Beneath the hum of fluorescent lights, we admire George's prototype processor, a web of barrels, plastic tubes, pumps and buckets connected to a hot water heater.

A vat holds waste vegetable oil, or "WVO" in biodiesel lingo. George filters the oil a number of times, using sheets to strain out cornmeal and flour. He prefers oil that was used to fry vegetables or fish because animal fats can cause problems during processing.

George is looking for a permanent home for the processor. Ideally, he'd like to find 20 people willing to invest $500 each to support a site and the power and labor necessary to process enough fuel for members, possibly about 10,000 gallons a year.

"Ladies and gentleman, we have..." George said as he lifted a lid to reveal a vat of creamy white goo. George stuck his finger into the glop.

"A very fine soap," he said, laughing. "It's a bad batch."

The lightheartedness aside, the men are concerned the government could create problems for those who home-brew biodiesel. There's an attitude among the group that the U.S. government is allied too closely with oil concerns.

Paul Beaton, a partner with the Blue Ridge Biofuels cooperative, said that it can be difficult for small groups to enter the energy industry and that backyard brewers tend to shun publicity.

"There's no guide out there to help you," he said, referring to the maze of taxes, permits and licenses involved. Blue Ridge Biofuels was started by a few guys brewing biodiesel in their backyard and today sells biodiesel at a retail pump.

George also has big dreams involving biodiesel. He'd like to create a nonprofit group where he can repair diesel-powered cars and give them to people who can't afford to buy their own. But that's for the future.

For now, he'll hold his weekly meetings and hope people come.

"I'll keep meeting to see if something gels," he said.

-- Kerry Hall: (704) 358-5085;

khall@charlotteobserver.com

Examples of Alternative Fuels

-- Biodiesel: A vegetable oil-based fuel usually made from soy or canola oil, or from recycled fryer oil. -- Ethanol: An alcohol-based fuel produced by fermenting and distilling starch crops, such as corn.-- Methanol: Also known as wood alcohol, can be used as an alternative fuel in flexible fuel vehicles that run on M85 (a blend of 85 percent methanol and 15 percent gasoline). However, it is not commonly used because automakers are no longer supplying methanol-powered vehicles.

-- Vegetable oil-fueled cars: Diesel-powered cars can be converted to run on unprocessed vegetable oil. This is different than biodiesel, which can be made from vegetable oil.

-- SOURCE: U.S. Energy Department

Growing Business

While many biodiesel producers remain backyard operations, the number of commercial producers in North Carolina is about to take off.

Currently, North Carolina is home to one commercially operating biodiesel plant. Six more are scheduled to come on line in the next few years.

-- SOURCE: Blue Ridge Biofuels

How Much Does It Cost?

Retail prices for biodiesel can vary widely, depending on where the fuel is produced, said Paul Beaton, partner with Blue Ridge Biofuels in Asheville.Blue Ridge Biofuels currently sells its biodiesel for $3.30 a gallon at its retail pump in Asheville. Friday's average U.S. retail price for regular diesel was $2.97.

Beaton said he knows of a producer selling biodiesel for $2.53 a gallon near Atlanta.

Typically, prices will range from costing a quarter less to a quarter more than petroleum diesel.

Home-brewers can make biodiesel at a cost ranging from 50 cents a gallon to $1.50 a gallon.

Want to Learn How to Home-brew Biodiesel?

Blue Ridge Biofuels is hosting a workshop June 10 and 11.

Biodiesel expert Maria "Mark" Alovert will provide a mix of lecture and hands-on lab time where students will make biodiesel. The workshop will cover quality control and incorporate "engineered mistakes" from which students can learn.

To register, go to: http://girlmark.com/asheville.html or e-mail: classregistration@girlmark.com

For more information call: (828) 253-1034

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT GEORGE'S BIODIESEL CO-OP?

-- What: The Metrolina Biodiesel Network's weekly meeting.

-- When: 7 p.m. Thursdays.

-- Where: Gus' Sir Beef at Monroe and Eastway. (No need to bring a chair)

-- For more information: www.metrolinabiodiesel.com Kerry

Hall

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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