King County Metro Transit is
beginning a pilot project to test the use of bio-diesel fuel in its bus fleet,
which could eventually reduce the agency’s reliance on fossil fuel by as much
as
1.7 million gallons a year.
Bio-diesel uses 80 percent diesel fuel mixed with 20 percent vegetable oil.
The 80/20 blend functions in the engine the same as 100-percent petroleum fuel.
"This has the potential to reduce Metro’s use of fossil fuel by 20 percent,
which is significant when you buy 165,000 gallons of fuel a week like Metro
does," said King County Executive Ron
Sims. "And, anything we can do to reduce fossil fuel consumption here in
King County can have global implications."
Metro managers say there may also be some minor improvements in emissions,
but the agency’s buses are already considered among the cleanest in the nation
because they operate with Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel and special particulate
filters.
Metro is testing the bio-diesel this fall on approximately 10 buses. The
bio-diesel demonstration will not require any modifications to the bus engines,
nor to the existing methods of storage and pumping the fuel. Permanent,
fleet-wide use of the fuel mix will depend on test results from the pilot
project, and the oil industry’s ability to make bio-diesel affordable and
available in large volumes.
