FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 4, 2001
SC Home to First Public Alternative Fuel Station in US
COLUMBIA--- The nation’s first public alternative fuel refueling station, the first of its kind in the United States, will officially open its doors during a grand opening event in Aiken, SC , on October 18, 2001.
Governor Jim Hodges and director of the US Department of Energy, James Powell, will be the featured speakers for the event.
United Energy Distributors, Inc. (UED), UED will carry alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. Biodiesel is a fuel made from soybean oil that can be used in diesel engines without modification. The company is located off of Toolebeck Road in Aiken, and will have a refueling station for public use and the capability to deliver alternative fuels to any location in the state.
The refueling station will directly impact soybean farmers in South Carolina. Thanks to the soybean checkoff program, research has shown that use of soy-based biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine results in substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter compared to emissions from petroleum-based diesel fuel.
“We really want to get the word out about benefits of alternative fuels here in South Carolina,” said Red Roberts, president of UED.
Biodiesel can be used as a pure fuel or blended with petroleum in any percentage. B20 (a blend of 20 percent biodiesel with 80 percent petroleum diesel) has demonstrated significant environmental benefits with a minimum increase in cost for fleet operations and other consumers.
“The fact that we now have biodiesel available in South Carolina is a direct success of the soybean checkoff program,” said M. D. Floyd, president of the South Carolina Soybean Association and a soybean farmer from Scranton, S.C. “In these trying times, it is very important for us as a country to reduce our dependency on foreign oil.”
Floyd and other soybean farmers will be on hand at the grand opening of UED to demonstrate that the sale of biodiesel and other alternative fuels will have a positive impact on the farm economy in South Carolina.
According to a recent study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 200 million gallons of increased annual soybean oil demand from biodiesel would increase total crop cash receipts by $5.2 billion by 2010. This would result in an average net farm income increase of $300 million per year. The price for a bushel of soybeans would rise by an average of 17 cents annually during the ten-year period.
Effective November 1998, B20 was approved by Congress as an EPAct (Energy Policy Act of 1992) compliance strategy. The legislation allowed EPAct fleets to meet their alternative fuel vehicle purchase requirements simply by buying 450 gallons of pure biodiesel and burning it in new or existing diesel vehicles in at least a 20% blend with diesel fuel.
“We hope that government and private fleets will begin to use biodiesel and ethanol as they comply with EPAct legislation,” said Roberts.
For more information about United Energy Distributors, Inc., contact Red Roberts at (888) 207-2009. For more information about soybeans or Biodiesel, contact Margaret Owens, SC Soybean Board and Association at (803) 734-1767.