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Home Solar Living Center
Biodiesel 
Our biodiesel fueling station officially opened in November 2003. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, non-toxic and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. It can be used in existing diesel engines with no noticeable loss in performance and is proven to reduce unhealthy emissions associated with petroleum. Yokayo Biofuels in Ukiah, CA, installed the unit and provides the biodiesel. Fuel can be purchased in the Real Goods Store. Hours of operation are 10am to 6pm, Monday through Saturday. During the summer - from Memorial Day to Labor Day - hours are 10:00am to 7pm Monday through Saturday, closing at 6pm on Sunday. The station is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Biodiesel fuels can be used in all diesel and compression ignition applications that are in existence today. Its use requires little or no modification to the engines or to the storage and delivery infrastructure. Biodiesel is simple to use. It is non-toxic and biodegradable and can be used neat (pure, 100%), as a blending stock in any percentage, or as an additive. In other words it is an environmentally safe and cost-effective alternative fuel. Today, one is able to find a wide range of diesel-powered cars elsewhere in the world. Many countries are moving to increased use of biodiesel in an effort to reduce pollution and the environmental impacts of fossil based diesel fuel. Each day fleets of trucks crisscross our nation, carrying goods to all corners. The engines in these trucks have the capability to use biodiesel, if it is readily available. The supply chain simply needs to exist. Stations with pumps providing biodiesel to these trucks and individual consumers are beginning to appear. In the year 2001, Sparks, Nevada was the first in the nation to designate a biodiesel pump. San Francisco, California and Jefferson City, Missouri soon followed. Until biodiesel pumps become more prevalent, trucking fleets and individuals are putting in their own storage tanks to fill their needs. There is no problem with safety. Storage tanks are one solution for short haul and local usage, but long haul trucks still need the increased infrastructure. Large fleets such as that of the US Post Office, state fleets (Ohio, Utah, etc.), and private companies (Phoenix Concrete and Thanksgiving Coffee) use biodiesel to run their equipment and vehicles. Many agencies within the US Government utilize biodiesel in tanks, boats, utility vehicles, generators, heavy equipment, and so forth. The Army and Air Force, the Department of Forestry, the General Services Administration, and the Agricultural Research Services are just a few agencies using biodiesel. The National Parks Service uses it in their boats and vehicles in an effort to reduce pollution in our oceans and lakes and protect the environment. Transit systems in many cities and areas such as San Francisco, California, the St. Louis area, Northern Kentucky, and Breckenridge, Colorado use biodiesel fuel in their buses. School districts have found that the benefits, both environmental and health, make utilizing biodiesel in their buses and other diesel vehicles a wise choice. Deer Valley School District in Arizona was one of the first to move in this direction. Construction companies benefit tremendously from biodiesel usage since most of their equipment is diesel driven including caterpillars, cement trucks, dump trucks, bulldozers, spreaders, front loaders, cranes, backhoes, graders, and all sizes of generators and diesel trucks. In agriculture, we find not only a possible source for biodiesel, but a consumer of biodiesel. Tractors, reapers, tillers, pickers, conveyors, generators, pumps, and irrigation systems all use diesel fuel in their work, bringing agriculture full cycle from producer to consumer. Any diesel driven generator such as those that fire up power plants or oil furnaces are potential users of biodiesel fuel. Mining equipment also falls into this category with their generators and ore cars. Diesel trains add to this list. Sierra Railroad uses biodiesel for running their trains as well as in a unique project of using the locomotives' diesel engines to generate electricity for consumer use. Submarines no longer use biodiesel as they did in the early 1900s, but fishing fleets and other commercial fleets, ferries, recreational yachts, sailboats, and motor boats are all candidates for biodiesel. Some lakes are requiring the use of biodiesel, because it is non-polluting, unlike Diesel #2, and Ventura Harbor (Ventura, California) now has biodiesel available for all boaters. Maui Scuba Tours and the Pacific Whale Foundation (Maui, Hawaii) use biodiesel in their boats. Splash Tours in San Francisco run their amphibious tour fleet on biodiesel. Biodiesel is a solvent, removing paint and cleaning out the sludge in tanks that have been used for Diesel #2. Biodiesel is an excellent lubricant for all machines, large and small. The engines of trucks, buses, and larger equipment that use biodiesel have their lives extended due to its lubricity.
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