Biodiesel now cheaper than petrodiesel here!

[WriConsult]

Yep, it's true. As we pulled up to the biodiesel pump to fill up the Golf, my wife noticed that the seasonal switch from B50 to B99 had already happened. BAD IDEA because even on the valley floors we're a long way from being free of the risk of freezing temps yet (and in fact, it is expected to freeze tonight). B50 is generally OK for our winter wx but B99 will not cut it below freezing. My wife's an on-call doc and canNOT risk having her car not start in the morning because of gelled fuel.

So we filled the tank halfway with biodiesel at $3.699, and then drove over to the other pump and topped off with "regular" diesel at $3.899. I only remember this happening once before -- briefly -- about 3 years ago.

[milocyrus]

It's good that you have choices. I like to go half and half myself, too just to be safe.

[2RR2NV]

if i ever get the land i want, i'll just make my own at $1/gal or a lil bit more. but good to see there are options out there. thank you Willy Nelson!!

[npauli]

I thought bio has been cheaper for the last few years, thanks to the $1/gal federal subsidy. Around here most pumps have an undisclosed blend between B5 and B15, and you have to pay about a couple dimes more at the few stations that sell pure petrodiesel. I guess I assumed the trend would continue and B99 would be the cheapest option - maybe low volume keeps the price high?

[WriConsult]

The mostly-petro blends may well be cheaper some places because they're subsidized relative to pure petro, but the mostly-bio blends almost never have been historically. Probably because the actual biodiesel is still a niche, low-volume product and (maybe?) costs more to make at most times.

The last time B99 was cheaper was during the 2008 energy spike. Only lasted a few weeks, and in response to the spike in diesel prices many local fleets (public and private, including all the major utilities and our bus system) implemented B5 mandates all at the same time. This huge new demand overwhelmed the (then much smaller) available supply, pushing biodiesel to $5-6/gal for quite a few months. Fortunately since then we've had a dramatic increase in local refining capacity, so my fingers are crossed that B99 won't spike this time.

[xcel]

Hi Dan:

My fingers are crossed on this as well. Bio is so much more sustainable and even at 5%, I can support it wholeheartedly vs. that #*@+ called Ethanol for 97% of the other cars we own and drive today.

Wayne

[50 mpg by 2012]

A regional biodiesel coop has been profitable since diesel was $2/gallon.

Of course the selling of "bio credits" helped. I am not certain whether they still exist ...

However, in the face of constrained supply ... the coop always has charge between 10¢ and 30¢ above petro diesel prices as a matter of policy.

[WriConsult]

BTW, biodiesel is once again cheaper than petrodiesel here. B99 has held steady at $3.99 since the middle of last year, but petrodiesel (actually B5 here, per state law) has been above $4 for quite some time now.

[Thomas99]

The present B99 price in San Diego is $4.25

[50 mpg by 2012]

There is a coop here in NC that has been profitable since diesel was under$2/gallon.

I have not talked to them in a while (since I don't own a diesel).

But, the last time I discussed their pricing strategy with them, they generally jumped their price about 7% above petro-diesel and when petro-diesel climbed within 2% they increased their price again.

This pricing policy was implimented to avoid depletion of their bio inventory by opportunists as diesel prices spiked.

Today my benchmark NC station increased both gasoline and diesel to $3.899 and $4.059 respectively from $3.859 and $3.999 over the weekend. There is an extra 7¢ or 8¢/gallon tax on diesel in NC. Regardless, diesel is about the same price as Plus.

It is not uncommon for this station to change pricing few +/-¢s several time/day.