Brooklyn Biofuel Boom
January 24th, 2008 by Ethan
Today there was a hearing by the NYC Council Environmental Protection Committee regarding the use of biodiesel in the city’s heating systems. One of the main purposes of the meeting was to investigate Councilman David Yassky’s (D-33rd District) legislation mandating a phase-in of biodiesel blends into the city’s roughly 450-500 million gallons annual consumption of oil. Yassky’s legislation calls for a law requiring all heating oil purchased in New York City to be B5 (5% biodiesel, 95% petroleum diesel) by December 31, 2008; B10 by December 31, 2010; and B20 by December 31, 2012.
While biodiesel from soy is great and — as the above map shows — there is an ever-increasing number of biodiesel production plants across the country, GBK is particularly interested in local production from existing feedstocks. Namely, recycled grease. NYC-based Tri-State Biodiesel currently collects used grease from over 1,400 kitchens and restaurants in the city and trucks it to a refinery where it is processed into biodiesel. As seen on GBK, Tri-State Biodiesel has been developing a biodiesel refinery here in Red Hook. According to CEO Brent Baker, TSB’s plant will be online with 3 million gallons of production capacity by the 4th quarter of 2008 — with the ability to double that capacity in 2009.
While Mr. Baker’s facility represents only a fraction of the fuel consumed by the city each year, almost everyone — from Councilman Yassky to Mr. Baker to folks at environmental policy organizations such as the NRDC and NYLCV — supports the idea of increasing the local production capacity including from recycled grease.
In fact, a NYT article from 2002 has this tasty tidbit about the potential for grease in the city:
According to Dr. K. Shaine Tyson, the manager of the renewable-diesel project at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory … New York City alone could produce 53 million gallons of biodiesel annually from its waste greases, Dr. Tyson estimated. That is about five times the annual diesel fuel consumption of the city public transit system.
In GBK’s discussions with Yassky staffer Sam Rockwell, it became apparent that while there is interest in biodiesel from recycled kitchen grease, the industry is in a fairly early stage and increased awareness and interest in biofuels will carry with it the promise of developing not only green fuels, but also a local green economy in NYC. Among those promoting the creation of an in-state (and hopefully in-Brooklyn) green economy is the NYC chapter of Cornell University’s Cornell Cooperative Extension. You can read more about their great biofuel initiatives here.
This green economy is not a far-fetched, futuristic pipe dream. It is happening. In addition to Tri-State Biodiesel, a company called Metrofuel is developing a facility in Greenpoint that will produce around 100 million gallons per year of the green fuel. And a local supplier — Connecticut-based Greenleaf Biofuels — currently sells biodiesel and bioheat (a mixture of biodiesel and low-sulfur home heating oil).
According to Mr. Baker’s testimony today, if Councilman Yassky’s law is enacted, projections are that NYC will see a reduction of 516 MILLION POUNDS — 258,000 tons — of carbon emissions. Imagine the benefits: from reduced greenhouse gas emissions to reduced health impact from airborne toxics to cutting down of illegal dumping of grease into our waterways to the stimulation of a green economy in Brooklyn, and more… And who could be opposed to that? (We’re all looking at you Exxon!)
Some more links, facts, downloads, and news:
- Fresh Direct uses Tri-State Biodiesel, a 7.5 million pound reduction in carbon dioxide per year
- A cool post on this topic from the blog onNYturf
- Fields of Fuel, a major documentary featuring Tri-State Biodiesel, has been selected to premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
- Own a home? A diesel car? Don’t wait for the law to be passed, BUY YOUR OWN biodiesel today! (Did we mention that it is cheaper than petroluem diesel too?)
- Download and read Councilman Yassky’s Biodiesel Legislation and some more information about the bill and about biodiesel use in NYC.
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February 13th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Ethan, do you have any figures on money saved by businesses that recycle their used cooking oil instead of paying to have it carted away? I’d like to promote this idea to our local restaurants here in Flatbush, and it’s always helpful to be able to talk about *both* types of green, if you know what I mean…