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2007 ENERGY TOUR: Day 23 July 17, 2007We visited Prairie Fire Biodiesel Coop in Madison, Wisconsin this morning where we filled up with B100. Prairie Fire is not only a B100 fueling site, they also do diesel engine repair and upgrades, including high quality waste vegetable oil conversion kits. They also told us about a product that utilizes waste vegetable oil for heating oil, sounds like a great idea www.inov8-intl.com/multi-fuel-boilers.htm. Later we did an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio.  We headed west on I90 and passed through Minnesota. In South Dakota we stopped for a re-fuel at Mt. Vernon Gas & Oil. We need to fill up as frequently as possible now because high blend biodiesel will become scarcer after South Dakota. We spoke with the proprietor of the filling station about the demand for biodiesel.    He said that in his area it is cost driven. When biodiesel is less expensive truckers and farmers use it, if petro-diesel is less they use that. He also sold B99 so he could get the "blenders credit". The biodiesel blenders credit is a tax credit paid to fuel distributors who blend biodiesel with regular petro-diesel. This was started in 2005 as an incentive for greater biofuels distribution. Blenders get a $1.00 per gallon credit and this savings is passed onto the consumer. What we want to know is why someone who sells B100 doesn't get some kind of credit incentive. Even if it is B99.9 there is a credit, but not for B100. While the blenders credit is great and we hope it will offer an incentive to make biodiesel a common part of diesel fuel, we hope that future legislation will allow an equal or greater credit incentive for B100 distributors. We noticed more wild grass clippings baled on the side of the road from the medians of the freeways getting mowed. As part of a renewable and sustainable practice states should find a way to utilize this source of biomass.  We also got to see a windmill being constructed. The size of these windmills is amazing! It was interesting to see the components spread out on the field before construction, and it looks so much larger on the ground than constructed.  |
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