April 13, 2006

Biodiesel conference highlights hope for alternative fuels

HARRISONBURG—The future of alternative fuels such as biodiesel appears to be bright. At the 2006 Virginia Biodiesel Conference held at James Madison University April 3, speaker after speaker touched on challenges facing the growing biodiesel industry.

But they also noted that public interest is strong and momentum appears to be on their side.

“There was tremendous interest in the 2006 General Assembly in encouraging more biofuels production,” reported Del. Matt Lohr, R-Broadway, who reviewed a number of legislative efforts at the conference.

“I think $3-a-gallon gasoline has gotten everyone’s interest. It’s gotten them thinking that maybe there’s something else we can do besides relying on foreign oil.”

Lohr reported that the legislature passed seven bills to encourage the production of renewable fuels and alternative fuel use in the state. The most important legislation were bills that created the Biofuels Incentive Program and a related fund. For every gallon of alternative fuel like biodiesel produced above 10 million gallons, the Biofuels Production Fund and the Biofuels Production Grant Incentive Program will offer grants to producers of $0.10 per gallon, up to a maximum of $8 million. Another bill created the Virginia Energy Plan, which calls for increased use of biodiesel and other alternative fuels in buses and other public transportation.

As a farmer himself, Lohr said he was encouraged that farmers across the state could possibly benefit from the growing alternative fuels movement.

“The time is now. These are ideas that have been talked about for years, but we passed legislation this year to make it happen. And it’s not just for corn and soybeans. We’re producing biofuel products from poultry litter and animal fats right here in the Shenandoah Valley.”

Biodiesel is certainly popular with one Shenandoah Valley consumer. Jeff Riggleman, sales manager for the Line-X Co., said he tries to use only biodiesel in his company pickup truck. He was topping off his tank with a B-5 blend, 95 percent diesel and 5 percent biodiesel, just a mile away from the conference site at a Liberty gasoline station.

The fuel mileage is so much better,” he explained. “I get about 19-and-a-half miles to the gallon with regular diesel fuel, and almost 24 miles a gallon with this stuff. We’re waiting for more places to sell biodiesel. We’ve got 115,000 miles on this truck already.”

Contact Lohr at 804-698-1026; Lynn Radocha at JMU, 540-568-2766 or Andrew Smith, VFBF governmental relations, at 804-290-1021.