Recently, more people are considering biodiesel to fuel vehicles as the benefits of alternative fuels outweigh the heavy costs of petroleum products.
N.C. State introduced a form of biodiesel into its fleet of Wolfline buses more than a year ago in an attempt to contribute to a cleaner, healthier environment.
Biodiesel is a cleaner-burning fuel, consisting of plant material such as soy oil rather than petroleum, compared to standard petroleum diesel.
The fuel chosen for the Wolfline fleet is a biodiesel and petroleum diesel mixture called B20, which contains 80 percent regular diesel and 20 percent biodiesel, according to Mike Brown, general manager of Connex/ATC — the company that operates Wolfline buses.
According to Brown, grant money originally helped to pay for the fuel that costs about 20 cents more per gallon than regular diesel with each gallon costing an average of $2.11. However, the grant expired March 2005, Brown said, and Wolfline has continued its use.
The biodiesel program began in August 2004 in conjunction with the county, Brown said. It started with fueling four buses and today eight buses run on B20.
“It started out as a demonstration project. We were involved in the State DOT,” Christine Klein, information and communication specialist for Transportation, said.
According to Klein, the department laid out a five year plan to restructure the budget, ultimately deciding the fate of the biodiesel program.
“We shifted, we cut some programs and made a lean budget even leaner,” Klein said.
Brown said he expects the cost of biodiesel to come down throughout 2006. For now, only eight of the 23 Wolfline buses will remain fueling with biodiesel. A biodiesel mixture containing 20 percent biodiesel reduces contaminant emissions by 15 percent, while a 100 percent biodiesel mixture can reduce emissions by 75 percent, according to Will Reynolds, president of Students for Sustainable Energy, an organization on campus that promotes energy conservation awareness.
“I think it would be great if they used it in all the Wolflines,” Reynolds said, but added he is glad they are doing what they can.
“It’s definitely great; they seem to be pretty concerned,” he said. “That’s forward thinking on their part.”
Klein said that because Wolfline does not receive any state funds to operate its 23 buses, student transit fees cover 80 percent of the funds, while 20 percent comes from parking permits. “As part of our financial model, which includes a parking permit price increase for the first time in approximately four years, we intend to continue to grow the transit system to respond to campus travel needs. At this point, we are continuing the biodiesel program,” Klein said. “The bottom line is that we have a growing need. We’re going to grow the system.”
