Biofuel News Digest 26 December

Today's news update includes:

Minnesota suspends B2 Biodiesl Mandate based on consumer complaints.
A Minnesote state law which mandatea that all diesel fuel sold in Minnesota had to be at least two percent biodiesel. Two percent does not sound like a lot, Minnesota is the first state to madate such a standard. On a nationwide basis, 2 percent would mean 1.5 billion gallons of biodiesel. With only 750 million gallons being produced this year, a B2 standard would DOUBLE production of the fuel. However, there are now problems. While the cause is still being investigated, the effect is that truckers and car drivers alike are experiencing clogged fuel filters. The cheif suspect is that the biodiesl does not meet ASTM D6751-02. The mandate passed in March 2002 and did not take effect until September 2005. I hope these problems get sorted out fast. It would be a pity if this mandate had caused a flood of untested product to go on the market at the last minute. A mandate that was aimed to help biodiesel production might give it a black eye. I'm not a fan of production mandates. These are tools of a command economy, not a free one. I would have rather Minnesota passed a law requiring public transportation be converted to a high percentage of Biodiesel in an effort to use the state's purchasing power to spur growth in a new market.

Colorodo Community to test biodiesel on School Bus Fleet.
This is the same type of story as reported in yesterday's digest. I'm interested in it because it refers to Blue Sun Biodiesel which has been in my Bookmarks!

Saab to introduce a Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV).
Flexible Fuel Vehicles are designed to run on pure gasoline, or 85% blends of ethanol (or methanol) and gasoline. Detroit has offered Flexible Fuel Vehichles for some time, but they haven't gained much share in the market. Ethanol's main detraction is that it has an unattractive energy balance -- it takes too much energy to produce a gallon of ethanol compared to other fuels. Estimates vary widely on this but one thing is for sure, it is here to stay. The Iowa caucuses keep it that way.