The Deer Valley Unified School District stretches 365 square miles over a combination of Arizona desert and urban sprawl.  The Phoenix-area school district has grown to 37 schools and 36,000 kids in recent years, making it one of the largest districts in the area.  All of the district’s 236 buses run on a biodiesel blend – a fuel the district has used for more than a decade. 

“Deer Valley is one of the true biodiesel pioneers in the nation, starting their program long before biodiesel was a known quantity,” said Bill Sheaffer, Clean Cities Coordinator for the Valley of the Sun Clean Cities Coalition. 

The biodiesel program began in 1999 with a facility that enabled the district to install equipment for blending biodiesel onsite.  Since then, the district has used everything from B5 to B50, depending on pricing. 

“Here we are 11 years later, and it’s been great – we haven’t had any problems,” said Transportation Director Nick Portonova.

Portonova, a former school principal, says the district is a leader in green energy, using other alternative fuels and having the largest high school in the country to be partially powered by solar panels.  He’s proud of the district’s pioneering spirit when it comes to biodiesel, and says he routinely takes calls from across the nation, helping answer questions that other fleets have. 

“The best thing about using biodiesel is the contribution we are making to the environment, and the healthier choice we’re making for our kids with the air they breathe,” Portonova said.  “We’re making the world a better place.”