Biodiesel Volkswagen delivery vehicles in Wisconsin. One more sign of the future.
This is a newspaper story we're going to be seeing more and more in the coming years. The Wisconsin State Journal set out to show how increasing gasoline prices are raising interest in biodiesel and other alternative fuels. The solid article then goes on to showcase local biodiesel promoters and producers in Wisconsin. If you're looking for information about just how "green" Green Bay is, this article might be the right place to start.
One cost comparison of going green in Wisconsin: a local pizzeria decided to invest $40,000 in four Volkswagens that run on either biodiesel or SVO (the article isn't exactly clear on this point) and now saves between $250 to $500 a week because they don't have to pay anyone to haul off the restaurant's waste oil. They just put it into their delivery vehicles. And if we use $375 as an average weekly saving, the store will recoup its investment in just over two years. After that, perhaps they'll tip the delivery folks a bit more each trip.
Another reason to shift to biodiesel: by mid-June, a Madison-based biodiesel fuel co-op hopes to be selling locally processed biodiesel to its members in June for around or under $3 a gallon. When summer's gasoline price spikes kick in, that'll sound awfully sweet. [Source: Wisconsin State Journal, Image Credit: Wisconsin State Journal]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Razib Ahmed 4:39AM (4/24/2006)
Clearly, we need to invest more money and effort and research for alternative energy sources. Specially the universities can do it very easily and among the common people there should be an awareness about using energies like biodesel and then with demand of high volume the price will surely come down.
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Phil L. 8:54AM (4/24/2006)
AutoBlogGreen spelling alert: It's Volkswagen with an "e".
That said, best wishes to Sebastian and crew. We'll be watching for good coverage on an important and timely topic.
Regarding biodiesel: The real issue is whether the energy equation has shifted such that it makes sense to mass-produce biodisel specifically for transportation. Cooking oil reuse is a great thing, but it's not enough to significantly alter our petroleum use.
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Charles S 10:49AM (4/24/2006)
Switching to a non-petro economy is something far, far, FAR away into the future. Simply getting our nation to use enough bio-fuels to stop ourselves from importing oil probably cannot be achieved in any short time frame.
People always want to frame the alt-fuels debate as an "EITHER/OR" situation. Yet, with fuel supplies being tight, it is more appropriate to consider alt-fuel as a suppliment, a solution to a future shortage. Perhaps the last alt-fuel movement was premature, but today, with people being more technology savvy, we are more than ready to move toward a cleaner, more sustainable fuel sources.
Yes, eventually it would be nice for us to curb the use of polluting fuel for transportation, but it will not happen overnight! Bio-fuels may seem awkward, in a world where using gasoline for cars seems to be the only "natural" thing to do. But with today's technological advancements and higher efficiency in all aspects of life, it is a great opportunity NOW, to push for bio-fuels.
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