MODOT DRIVES BIODIESEL USE IN MISSOURI

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) began using B20 in approximately 600 diesel vehicles and pieces of diesel equipment in the spring of 2001. Department vehicles now running on biodiesel include motor graders, dump trucks, off-road vehicles, high lifts, pull-behind message boards, and other miscellaneous diesel powered equipment.

Mark Warren, MoDOT mechanic supervisor, said the department is using biodiesel in part to meet the requirements of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The act requires that certain federal, state and public utility fleets use a percentage of Alternative Fuel Vehicles. Since biodiesel operates in ordinary diesel vehicles, the act was amended in 1998 so that biodiesel use would earn credits.

Warren says biodiesel was an easy choice for MoDOT. "We like biodiesel because as a fuel it has excellent lubricating qualities, and the emissions are much better than with diesel fuel," he said. "But ease of use was another factor in our decision, the fact that we could just put it in without any concerns. It was a transparent change."