Biofuel Blends Catching on With Heating Oil Dealers

A biofuel tank in Vermont, where at least 20 heating oil dealers offer biofuel. (image: middlebury.edu)

This article was originally published in HEAT This Week on October 9.

The national oilheat industry recently decided to include 2 percent biofuel in all heating oil by 2010. Some heating oil dealers aren’t waiting that long, and have made biofuel blends—conventional heating oil mixed with fuel from a source such as soybeans or canola—available now.

The Times Argus of Vermont reported this week that about 20 dealers in that state currently sell biofuel blends, which can be burned in existing heating systems. Some dealers have offered the blends for five years. The Worcester Telegram spotted a similar trend in Massachusetts, where heating oil dealers have taken the lead in getting Massachusetts ready for the transition to biofuel blends. Dealers have been informing their technicians about biofuels, and one dealer in the Worcester area says that his customers have been happy with the 2 percent blend he provides.

Heating oil dealers are excited to be doing their part to reduce pollution and dependence on foreign oil, as well. Biofuel blends contain less sulfur than 100 percent petroleum heating oil, and since they use fuel from crops that can be grown domestically, they reduce US dependence on foreign oil. And, because those crops can be continually grown and harvested, biofuel is a renewable resource. At present, biofuel blends are slightly more expensive than conventional heating oil, but some heating oil dealers and consumers already believe the benefits are worth the cost. Although many heating oil dealers are already getting on the biofuel bandwagon, they still make up a minority of dealers in the Northeast.