PDX Transit

Portland to Run on Biodiesel

Thursday, 11. 2. 2006  –  Category: Uncategorized

Portland may soon see many more of its public vehicles running off of biodiesel.  In a recent trip to Eastern Oregon, City Commissioner Randy Leonard made a tentative deal with the Pendleton Grain Growers cooperative to purchase biodiesel with which to fuel many of the diesel engine cars and trucks that the city operates.  With 99 percent of the Water Bureau’s diesel vehicles already on biodiesel, and all other city diesel vehicles on a 20 percent biodiesel mix, the need for a reliable source of the fuel is paramount to keeping the city running.

The Pendleton cooperative involved with the deal is currently growing a limited amount of canola, the grain which produces an oil used in the manufacture of biodiesel.  With the prospect of widespread use of biodiesel in Portland, the cooperative can invest in planting more of the grain, making it a more financially feasible option for both the City and the farmers.

The City Council must still approve Commissioner Leonard’s proposal before it takes effect.  Pending that approval, and further negotiations with the cooperative, the City could receive its first shipments of biodiesel from the Pendleton area starting in early 2007.

For more information see the Portland Tribune.

Related posts:

1. Biodiesel rules go into effect
2. Its not your father’s diesel engine: A Honda with power
3. Squeezing out miles per gallon using electric fields
4. City Hall Wants YOUR Opinion
5. More options at the pump coming soon