California regulators have passed some new rules that will ban storing some types of biodiesel underground. The fear is the new rule will hamper the fledgling green industry.

“…gas stations, fleet yards and others who distribute the increasingly popular ‘green’ fuel can only store biodiesel blends of up to 20 percent in underground tanks, even if the tanks are double-walled.”

The tanks need to be tested for leaks and the test is expected to take 2-3 years. Biodiesel advocates say it will reduce sales across the Golden State.

“This is stupid. It’s a step backwards,” said CB, who runs a Tree Service in San Jose. “It’s like they are picking on us. We are trying to do the right thing.”

Translated means – let’s test the dickens out of the non green industry folk but give us a free pass.

These rules grew out of several pollution disasters that California has experienced over the past 30 years. Higher concentrations of biodiesel have some solvent properties and have not yet been approved by Underwriters Laboratories.

Sounds reasonable to me, unless of course, you think we are walking backwards.

Image by David Reverchon

They stuck the weird cars in a room off to the side . No matter, I found them – the cars that are meant to be Earth friendly, because I went looking just for them. Hanging out in a room with other cars with signs saying they’ll go 100 miles on a gallon of gas was a VW Jetta that runs on Biodiesel/VegOil Conversion.

I reckon I can buy a log at Safeway and stick it in the tank or stop by McDonald’s and ask for their left over vegetable oil. Sounds reasonable to me. Now as long as nobody uses gasoline to fry eggs we’re good to go.

Neste Oil will invest about $1 billion to build a new biomass-to-liquid diesel plant in Rotterdam, Netherlands that will manufacture NExBTL renewable diesel fuel. The goal, 800,000 tons per year by 2011. Palm oil, rapeseed oil and animal fats will be mixed to make a high-quality diesel fuel.

Neste already has two such plants, though smaller, in Finland and Singapore.

(GreenPeace demonstration against Neste Oil diesel containing palm oil: rainforest destruction and climate change in diesel tank)

NExBTL fuel is supposed to reduce total life cycle C02 emissions by 40-60% as compared to regular diesel fuel. The company is also researching the use of non-food vegetable oils, wood waste and algae to make diesel fuel.

“Where do you buy gasoline, Alex?”

“I buy mine at the Piggly Wiggly Gas Mart, Bill. How about you?”

“My car runs on buffalo chips.”

Sooner or later, we are going to figure out how to make replenishable fuels without cutting into the food supply. It’s just a matter of time.

[Source: Neste Oil]

Image by Greenpeace Finland