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Rising Suns: Bio mile
Could veggie-based fuel lead to a petroleum-free future?

by Jordan E. Rosenfeld

Just a couple of years ago a small handful of progressive Marinites—often written off as "enviro-zealots"—were concocting biodiesel in their basements and garages like it was bootleg moonshine. The rarer few saved restaurants the trouble of disposing of their cooking oil, and smugly scooted around town in cars that left the scent of French fries in their wake. Like all good ideas ahead of their time, eventually the mainstream scooped it up. Biodiesel's time has finally arrived, urged on by public outcry that the Iraq war is keeping the U.S. dependent on "big oil," along with the pressures of peak oil and global warming.

More people are trading in their traditional engines for diesels or hybrids so they can run their cars on clean, environmentally friendly fuel. Now, to serve the growing demand, Marin can claim its first full-time biodiesel fueling station, located at the Green Fusion Design Center (though the pump is not a part of the center) on Greenfield Avenue in San Anselmo. The pump is owned and run by Marin residents Lance McCardle and Campbell Jones, co-owners of LC Biofuels, LLC. The duo started out making biodiesel for themselves and their friends two years ago, 40 gallons at a time.

"Our goal was to establish an easily accessible biodiesel pump in Marin," says McCardle. "Before we opened up people would have to drive to Berkeley, or have the fuel delivered to their homes. San Anselmo graciously gave us the go-ahead and we were able to open this pump, which is accessible seven days a week, 12 hours a day. It's been really convenient for people."

This is the third green business for McCardle. He is the previous owner of Blue Sky Shipping, an "eco delivery company" that used biodiesel in its trucks and delivered for many of the green businesses in the Bay Area. Before that he guided backpacking and rock-climbing trips. "I've always been concerned about the environment. I fashioned my life around my ideals and knew that an honorable path to the future for me was to create green businesses."

In the five months the pump has been open, LC Biofuels already has obtained more than 300 regular customers—who must purchase a membership card, which slides like an ATM card through the "card-locked" pump. The fuel is ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) certified and can be used in any diesel engine without modification.

"The majority of our customers, comprising 75 percent of our fuel volume, are big contractors and construction companies right now," says McCardle. "We have a great number of civilian customers, but they comprise a smaller number of all sales. Whereas a civilian customer will put 10 gallons in their VW and not fill up again for another month, a construction company can burn anywhere from 40 to 500 gallons per week."

Jeff Saarman of Mill Valley is one such customer who chooses to use biodiesel "as an environmental and even moral choice." He has trouble understanding why other people aren't doing so. "They're not willing to make the economic sacrifice. I remember while watching Al Gore's movie where he says you've got a pot of gold on one side, and the world on the other—which do you want? Give me the world. Forget about the money!"

He would, however, prefer to see the recycled vegetable oil sources exhausted before turning to virgin oil sources. "I'm not an advocate of trading farmland for oil production," Saarman says.

LC Biofuel's biodiesel fuel is derived primarily from soybean oil feedstock, which, McCardle says, is the least expensive product for the highest quality currently on the market. For the time being, they don't produce their own fuel—they distribute fuel from other companies—but they have invested in a commercial biodiesel processing plant, which is under construction.

The cost of their biodiesel is $3.60 per gallon, which is anywhere from 10 to 20 cents higher than regular diesel fuel. McCardle points out that diesel engines get greater fuel economy, so in the long run, a customer pays less per tank.

Though the statistics of biodiesel fuel consumption are encouraging, McCardle is not convinced biodiesel alone will take care of the country's dependence on oil and petroleum. "Even maxed out on all oils, we're only going to be able to produce approximately 500 million gallons per year. Biodiesel will never replace regular diesel."

He is, however, looking forward to further advances in hydrogen-based and algae fuels. "That could really mean much cheaper oil."

Lest anyone think that a biodiesel pump is an easy sell, McCardle says there are "tons of obstacles" to starting a biodiesel pump. "California is not a friendly state when it comes to biodiesel." It is considered an experimental fuel, which adds paperwork and hurdles to those who sell it commercially.

"My partner and I wanted [to open this fueling station] badly enough and saw that there was a good future in it. It's a good way to go in terms of green business, considering the war in the Middle East and our domestic security. Our fuel is 100 percent made in the USA."

This appeals to Tad Jacobs, owner of TREEMASTERS, a tree-care business in San Rafael, and longtime biodiesel user and advocate.

"Not only is [using biofuels] environmentally the right decision to make, patriotically it's also the right thing—you're keeping the money here in our country. I have no deep love for the oil companies and the record profits they're making. I also have children and I'd like to leave them a planet," he says.

Jacobs fuels at least 12 vehicles including dump trucks, pickup trucks, cranes, chippers, stump grinders, air compressors and fertilizer machines; he estimates that he uses about 1,500 gallons of biodiesel fuel a month.

Pleased by the success of their first fuel station, McCardle and Jones are finishing negotiations for a second station in West Marin, which they hope will be open by the end of summer. They are also scouting for another location in southern Marin.