June 16, 2006

Oregon's largest transit agency expands use of biodiesel

TriMet more than doubles its use of locally produced biodiesel

After a successful four-month test, the Portland metro area transit agency announced it's expanding its use of biodiesel. TriMet will now fuel all 210 LIFT buses that provide door-to-door service for elderly and people with disabilities.

TriMet, the largest user of diesel in Oregon, uses a B5 blend of five percent recycled cooking oil based fuel and 95 percent diesel. The B5 mixture is blended by Oregon's Carson Oil Company, using pure biodiesel produced by SeQuential Pacific Biodiesel based in Salem, OR.

"TriMet's expanding use of biodiesel is helping to build a local industry that is environmentally friendly and helps us become more sustainable," said TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen.

Biodiesel for LIFT

In partnership with Carson Oil, TriMet more than doubled its use of pure biodiesel from 1,350 gallons to 3,500 gallons monthly.

Carson Oil purchases the biodiesel from SeQuential, the first local biodiesel manufacturer in Oregon. The local biodiesel consists of vegetable oil and used cooking oil from such places as NW restaurants and Kettle Foods in Salem.

"To build a truly regional biofuels industry requires a concerted effort across industries and user groups," said SeQuential Co-Founder Tomas Endicott. "We commend TriMet, other individual drivers and progressive businesses for making the choice to burn a cleaner sustainable fuel."

Next step

TriMet hopes to expand its use of biodiesel to its regular fixed route bus fleet by the end of the year. At the moment, SeQuential does not have the capacity to provide TriMet with the amount needed to fuel its 625 fixed route fleet. The transit agency is committed to purchasing biodiesel from NW suppliers and will work with SeQuential to grow this local industry.

Four-month test

In December, TriMet began testing biodiesel in 75 of the LIFT fleet buses. The biodiesel performed well through the trial period, particularly in cold weather conditions. LIFT buses provided approximately one million rides last year.