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The Albert Lea Tribune
Trail's Travel Center, others concerned about move toward biodiesel mandate
By Dylan Belden
The Albert Lea Tribune
Published Friday, March 08, 2002 9:25 AM CST
At Trail's Travel Center, where 50 to 70 percent of the gas is sold
to shipping fleets, a half-cent per-gallon price difference has been
enough to send customers into Iowa to get their fuel, owner Rocky
Trail said.
That's why Trail, along with representatives of transit operators,
trucking companies and fuel retailers, are opposing the latest push
for a state requirement that part of all diesel fuel be made up of
biodiesel - a measure they say is guaranteed to increase diesel costs
in Minnesota, driving business across the borders and passing extra
costs on to consumers.
Biodiesel is a type of fuel made from vegetable oil, often from
soybeans. Some in Freeborn County have supported a biodiesel mandate,
hoping to capitalize on the requirement by building a biodiesel plant
on land near the EXOL ethanol plant near Glenville.
A bill requiring all diesel fuel sold in Minnesota to contain at
least 2 percent biodiesel is making its way through the Minnesota
House and Senate, and could be up for floor votes next week, said Bob
McFarlin, a consultant for the Biodiesel by Choice Coalition.
The coalition estimates that a biodiesel mandate would cost diesel
consumers $48 million to $200 million each year.
Beyond that extra cost, Trail said his business would be further hurt
because the truck stop now gets its fuel from a terminal in northern
Iowa; if he is forced to use biodiesel, drivers will have to travel
to someplace in Minnesota to get the fuel. Because of special
difficulties in storing and transporting biodiesel - it must be kept
heated, for instance - it's possible that it will only be available
at a handful of locations in Minnesota. That means extra shipping
costs for many retailers, Trail said.
Trail and McFarlin said as the only state with a biodiesel
requirement, Minnesota would not be able to compete with its
neighbors.
"Truckers will fill up with the lesser-cost biodiesel fuel in Mason
City and drive right on through the state of Minnesota," Trail said.
And, they said, one of the main reasons the bill gets support - its
perceived benefit for farmers - isn't a lock, either. There is no
guarantee the biodiesel fuel used to fulfill the mandate would be
produced in Minnesota, and the added fuel costs will hurt farmers,
too, McFarlin said.
"If you're not a soybean farmer, this is a net loss with no upside,"
McFarlin said.
Members of the coalition say they support biodiesel as a fuel, and
even use it when possible, but simply disagree with the idea of a
state mandate. A federal mandate would make more sense, they said,
because it would keep everyone on a level playing field.
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