The Ohio Department of Transportation recently announced it is switching to biodiesel and ethanol fuels.
Lindsay Mendicino, spokesperson for ODOT, said her department will use at least 1 million gallons of biodiesel and 30,000 gallons of ethanol next year.
ODOT is happy to be able to assist the state with its alternative fuel program
Mendicino said.
Currently, ODOT owns 4,200 snowplows, off-road and other vehicles that run on diesel fuel. Mendicino said ODOT began research in 1995 to see if biodiesel could be used in their current vehicles. At that time, she said the biodiesel cost 60 cents more than regular diesel and often had problems, as it gelled in holding tanks and inside vehicles.
However, biodiesel's price is now approximately the same price as regular diesel and the gelling problem has been solved. Mendicino said all 4,200 diesel-run units are already compatible with biodiesel, so no significant changes had to be made to the vehicles themselves.
But ODOT's other vehicles, including pickup trucks and passenger cars, approximately 2,400 in number, would require a flex-fuel tank that would allow either regular gasoline or ethanol fuel to be used in a car. Every new car purchased is ethanol-ready, and each year 10 to 12 cars are replaced in each of 12 districts statewide, Mendicino said.
This switch, Mendicino said, was due in part to an executive order from Gov. Bob Taft, requiring the state agency to complete a process it has been working on for the past 10 years.
Mark Rickel, spokesman for Taft, said ODOT's alternative fuel project was something of a pilot project for the state. Other state agencies will most likely be switching to biodiesel and ethanol fuels soon, Rickel said. The switch to biodiesel has more than just environmental advantages.
This switch will lessen our dependence on foreign oil Rickel said.
Today, Athens will hold an alternative fuel car show on Union Street, between Court and College streets.
The event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is scheduled to let children from Athens City Schools see alternative fuel cars up close. Andy Sinozich, project manager for Cinergy Solutions, said there will be many different kinds of cars on display, including a biodiesel Mercedes, a fuel cell van and a City of Athens pickup truck that runs on vegetable oil.
It's important to show kids you can use other fuels to run vehicles Sinozich said.
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