BIOMASS HUB

Legislators in Iowa are considering a bill that would include a 5 percent biodiesel mandate, but truckers throughout the state oppose the use of biodiesel in the industry.

The B5 bill passed the Iowa State Senate last year but didn’t advance in the House.  The House Ways and Means Committee will likely will take up Senate File 464 this session.

The reluctance of truckers to use biodiesel has been one of the main reasons biodiesel has struggled in the state.  Truckers have complained to the House Ag Committee that biodiesel costs more and underperforms traditional diesel.

Speaking to the House Ways and Means Committee, Steve Lursen of Decker Truck Line in Fort Dodge, explained:

Any difference in price and performance is significant for an industry that measures profitability in cents per mile.

Decker participated in the 2 Million-Mile Haul, a comparison of traditional diesel and B-20, a 20 percent biodiesel blend.  There was a 2.2 percent fuel consumption advantage for trucks using traditional diesel compared to those burning biodiesel, according to results of the 2 Million Mile Haul.

A coalition that includes several truckstops, fuel companies, convenience store chains such as Casey’s General Stores and Kum & Go, along with the Petroleum Marketers Association, has lined up against the Iowa mandate bill.  The Iowa Motor Truck Association’s (IMTA), whose members include more than 700 trucking companies with more than 86,000 employees, have also opposed the bill.

Biodiesel has lagged behind ethanol in usage because unlike ethanol, it has never had a federal mandate. But biodiesel received a major boost from the federal government’s RFS2, which enables some biodiesel to qualify as advanced alternative fuels.

Randy Olson, executive director of the Biodiesel Board, explains:

We have nothing but respect for Iowa’s truckers, but it seems fear and politics are overtaking facts.  The study found few significant differences between 20 percent biodiesel and ultra low sulfur diesel in performance and operation.

Image: Flickr/Roger Smith