Hi Folks, Mxfrank those are great links! Thanks for digging that out. If we start to get serious someone with a better legal ear than me will have to go over that stuff for sure. I can't tell if we are charged tax by our distributor and then if we 'sell it again' to our co-op members if we would be taxed twice. Hmm. Alistair that DPF stuff is interesting. I haven't looked into it yet, do Jetta's in the US do this?
I just got off the phone with our local biodiesel supplier and learned a few things. They were extremely helpful. This sounds entirely doable to me.
1) Pricing. They charge tax on the fuel if they know it is for transportation and not home heating. They said that at least in NY, B99 is always a little cheaper than D2 at the pump. Cool.
B20 with tax = $2.35/gal
B100 with tax = $2.25/gal
They deliver for 100 gallons or more. It gets cheaper than the prices above if you order more than 300 gallons.
2) Handling and containment.
B20 is considered 'hazmat' and needs a double-wall containment vessel. There are off the shelf solutions for this which are very expensive. B99 is not considered Hazmat and so doesn't need this fancy containment.
If our tank was installed indoors, we would be subject to some DOT regulations. However if we put this on a trailer, even if it's inside, we would be exempt from lots of these (automatic fire extinguishers etc. If we put B99 on a trailer we would be 100% compliant and legit. Really cool. If we had a double wall fuel storage on a trailer with B20 in it we would also be 100% legit.
3) Still to work out:
What we need for equipment (cheapest options)
Where to put it (I have a few ideas, would need to ask)
How to pay for equipment (finding a fair strategy might be tough)
Contact other
US based Biodiesel co-ops and see how they're doing.
Who wants to participate? (how do we get folks to sign up?)
Stable business model (that doesn't rely too heavily on any one person).
A great name!
4) Participation:
I'll keep posting here as things move a long so as not to leave anyone out, but I think if there are at least 3 people who want to do this we should grab a beer and chat. I know a non-profit art space in Gowanus whose space we can definitely meet in.
Onward!