True Cost of BioDiesel ...Jul. 29‚ 2008To the Editor: The main point that was missed in the article is that if biodiesel were cheaper than petrodiesel, everyone would buy it and it would quickly disappear. I oversaw the building of a 3MGY biodiesel plant for Bay Biodiesel in San Jose. In 2006 we sold 15M gallons of biodiesel and never sold it for less than petrodiesel. In 1999 when Golden Gate Petroleum (owner of Bay Biodiesel) started selling biodiesel, customers would pay $1.00 - $1.50 more per gallon because it was important for their business to be green. Later we received tax credits and the price became more in-line with petrodiesel. I used to say we have dark green and light green customers. The dark green would pay what ever they had to while the light green would run back to petroleum diesel the minute the price of biodiesel went up a little. Biodiesel is for those looking to help the planet, not bargain hunters. The point is, people should use biodiesel instead of petrodiesel because it's the right thing to do, not because it's cheaper. This includes biodiesel that's not as sustainable as waste cooking oil, which is a very limited resource. Biodiesel that has been shipped or is made from virgin oil (including palm) is still much better than using petrodiesel. I am now growing jatropha and making biodiesel in the tropics. We don't export any fuel, to help the local economy and we use very sustainable practices. One thing I'm working on is a process that does not use methanol or a base catalyst. Since almost all methanol comes from natural gas, my new process will be more sustainable than converting waste cooking oil with methanol. Once this type of processing is available should you boycott these waste cooking oil guys? No. There's no reason to kick dirt on other alternative fuels. It's going to take many different efforts to get us off of petroleum. Thanks, Steve Stout San Jose, CA You can submit letters to the editor by clicking on this link: feedback@beyondchron.org or by writing to: Beyond Chron 126 Hyde Street San Francisco, CA 94102 415-771-9850 (phone) |