All About Alternate Fuel Vehicles (AFV)

Source: Biodiesel Magazine, Nov. 28, 2007
http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=1931

UPS is adding biodiesel to its 1,600-plus vehicle “green fleet,” which the company said is the largest fleet of alternatively fueled vehicles in the world. The company’s biodiesel initiative will be launched with the support of a $515,000 federal grant. The funds will be used to enhance infrastructure in order to supply a 5 percent biodiesel blend to 366 ground support vehicles at the company’s Louisville, Ky., airport hub, starting in 2008. The company’s green fleet also uses propane and natural gas, and includes electric and hybrid electric vehicles. The UPS green fleet has logged more than 126 million miles since 2000.

London, UK, November 26, 2007
Source: Environment News Service
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2007/2007-11-26-02.asp

Biodiesel made from waste chocolate is fueling the journey of two British men who left the town of Poole, on England’s southern coast Friday headed for Timbuktu, Mali in West Africa. They are using the trip to raise public awareness about biofuels and their potential to ease the impact of climate change.  Andy Pag of London and John Grimshaw of Poole have nicknamed their big Ford Iveco Cargo truck the BioTruck. It will carry their chocolate biodisel fuel and two smaller vehicles for crossing the Sahara Desert.
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Helsinki, Finland, November 30, 2007
Source: The Associated Press/International Herald Tribune
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/30/business/EU-FIN-COM-Finland-Neste-Biodiesel.php

Neste Oil Corp. announced plans Friday to build a renewable biodiesel plant in Singapore that is expected to be online in 2010, in a project valued at €550 million (US$810 million).  The new plant, with an annual capacity of 800,000 tons, will use palm oil as its main raw material, the Finnish company said. That drew protests from environmental groups concerned about the deforestation that occurs to make way for palm oil plantations. (more…)

Fuel only at busy South Lake Union spot
By Joseph Tartakoff, P-I Reporter /Dec 13, 2′007
Source: Seattlepi.com
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/343520_biofuel14.html

A gas station of the future — unmanned, fronted by crops and serving only biodiesel fuel from four dispensers — will open in March at the corner of Westlake Avenue North and Valley Street in South Lake Union.  The station’s owner, Propel Biofuels of Seattle, hopes that its presence at the prime intersection, which is passed by more than 60,000 vehicles a day, will allow it to capture car and business fleet traffic, said co-founder and President Rob Elam.
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By Pat Sherman,November 16, 2007
Source: SignsonSanDiego.com
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20071116-9999-lz1mi16green.html

For North County residents hoping to rack up green mileage, the demand for alternative fuels surpasses the supply. Finding the stuff can be difficult.  Oceanside businessman Bill Cox owns a branch of 1-800-Got-Junk, which hauls trash from homes and businesses to a landfill or recycling center. When the Vancouver-based company invited its franchise owners to operate one of their trucks on biodiesel for a six-month test, Cox jumped at the chance.
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Alana Herro, November 5, 2007
Source: WorldWatch Institute
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5438

Passengers riding on certain buses in Scotland will soon be able to trade in their used cooking oil for reduced fares. The oil will be recycled to power a fleet of eight buses that run on 100-percent biodiesel as part of a trial initiative by Stagecoach, one of the United Kingdom’s largest bus and coach operators, to reduce carbon emissions. “This innovative project is a great opportunity for our customers to play their part in saving the planet by recycling household products that would otherwise go to waste,” said Brian Souter, Stagecoach group chief executive. “I’m sure the idea of cheaper travel in exchange for the used contents of your chip pan will capture people’s imagination.”
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Ottawa, ON, 31 Oct 2007
Source: Canadian Vehicles Manufacturing Assoc. CVMA press release
http://www.cvma.ca/eng/news/2007/article_20071031_01.asp

Canada’s leading manufacturers of light duty vehicles kicked off their annual “Auto Days” event in Ottawa by calling on the federal government to facilitate the wider availability of green bio-fuels. The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association (CVMA) points to the expanded use of green bio-fuels as another important way to accelerate greenhouse gas reductions from on-road vehicles in Canada. “Canada continues to lag far behind other countries in making greener fuels like E85 and biodiesel available for drivers,” said Mark Nantais, president of the CVMA. “Canada’s automakers have made over 70 new green vehicle technologies available to consumers in just two years. The combination of new vehicle technology and green fuels creates maximum environmental benefit.”
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Stockholm, Sweeden, Nov. 8,2007
Source: Grainnet.com
http://www.grainnet.com/articles/
Biofuel_Cities_European_Partnership_officially_launched-50405.html

After several months of intensive preparation, the Biofuel Cities European Partnership was officially launched Nov. 8, at the Clean Vehicles and Fuels (CVF) Symposium in Stockholm, Sweden.  Alexandra Langenheld of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Transport and Energy officially inaugurated the Biofuel Cities European Partnership, which is a forum for the application of biofuels, open to all stakeholders in the area of biofuels for vehicles. 400 delegates, from 25 countries, representing all links in the biofuel chain attended the launch at the Biofuel Cities stand at the CVF symposium.
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By Eddie Cunninngham, November 13 2007
Source: Irish Independent
http://www.independent.ie/farming/grim-choice-food-or-fuel-1217683.html

IT was interesting to hear Mairead McGuinness talk recently about the potential dangers in the intensifying battle between food and fuel for a place on the farm. America is steadily devoting more acreage to crops for conversion to biofuels than for human consumption. It is a scenario that will increasingly impinge on Irish farmers.
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By Jane Sutton, Nov 9, 2007
Guantanamo Bay, US Naval Base, Cuba
Source: Reuters UK
http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKN0923382320071109

The faint aroma of french fries may soon waft over the roadways of the Guantanamo naval base as the U.S. military experiments with a plan to run its buses and trucks on used cooking oil. Best known as the site of the United States’ controversial prison camp for suspected terrorists, the base is home to more than 4,000 people who produce about 1,500 gallons (5,680 liters) of used cooking oil a month in its galleys, restaurants and home kitchens.
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