November 17, 2005

The high price of petroleum has lead the Omaha Public Power District to more than double its usage of a soybean-based biodiesel fuel this year. So far this year, OPPD has purchased 13,200 gallons of a fuel that is 20 percent specially-prepared soybean oil and 80 percent petroleum diesel. The latest batch of the "B20" soy diesel was about 10 cents a gallon cheaper than the diesel fuel OPPD’s fleet of trucks regularly uses.

“Being able to move to a soy-based fuel that is less expensive than straight diesel saves all our customers money while assisting our local farm economy,” said OPPD President and CEO Gary Gates.

The product is made in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, from crops purchased from farmers in Nebraska, Iowa, and other states.

OPPD had purchased about 6,000 gallons of B20 by the end of May to comply with federal energy laws. It continued to monitor fuel prices and moved to the soybean-added fuel when the prices were competitive. Since May, it has purchased an additional 7,100 gallons of B20.

An added advantage of a soy-diesel blend of fuel is the fact the addition of the soybean oil cuts down on exhaust emissions, especially particulates. Retail outlets in Nebraska for bio-diesel can be found on the Nebraska Soybean Board’s website at http://nesoybeans.unl.edu/biodiesel2.htm  .

The Omaha Public Power District is among the country’s largest public power districts, serving more than 320,000 electric customers at retail in all or parts of 13 counties in Nebraska.