The Solution

A Responsible Path to Renewable Heat

Over the past two decades, the heating oil supply pool has been increasingly cleansed of sulfur and blended with renewable, clean-burning biodiesel to create ultra-low-sulfur Bioheat® Fuel. Commonly delivered to customers today as five- to 20-percent biodiesel blends (B5 to B20), some of today’s forward-thinking fuel retailers are already delivering blends of up to 40 and 50 percent biodiesel, which is cleaner and more renewable than both natural gas and electricity. Put another way, there are heating fuel customers right now whose conversion to electric heat would represent an increase in their carbon footprint.

According to global management consultancy A.T. Kearney, a decarbonization plan that increases biodiesel supply to the Northeast, while supporting the ongoing commercialization of complementary biofuels, represents the most realistic and responsible path forward to net-zero home heating.

Said Kearney’s Yuri Kopylovski, “Electric air source heat pumps claim to lower emissions and costs over time, but they have the highest cost to upgrade from an oil heat system and often require a supplemental heat source in very cold weather. They also rely on electricity that’s generated at peak usage times when the share of renewable electricity generation is relatively low and carbon emissions are higher than proponents often claim. In comparison, using B100 is cheaper to upgrade from an oil heat system, more efficient in cold climates, and has lower carbon emissions compared to the alternatives.”

“Months of research conducted by Kearney demonstrates that heating oil-biofuel blending provides the most cost-effective and immediate path to reduce fossil energy use and carbon emissions … Our findings show that this strategy is both affordable and easier to implement than electrification for home heating in the Northeast.”

Neal Walters

Partner, Kearney

The Bioheat® market provides feedstock growers and biodiesel producers a market during the off-season for on-highway biodiesel demand, which peaks in the summer.

Farm to Furnace

Because biodiesel is made from a variety of readily available feedstocks – all of which are surplus or byproducts of existing food supply lines – demand for higher blends of Bioheat® will provide a welcome boon to America’s farmers and ranchers. As the second largest user of soybean oil in the U.S. today, Biodiesel puts an extra 13 percent in soybean farmers’ pockets. The ability to make biodiesel from animal fats – including beef tallow, pork grease and chicken fats – benefits the poultry, beef, and pork industries by creating demand for products that didn’t previously exist. Additionally, increased demand for soybean oil helps temper the price of soy meal, which is used by the poultry and livestock industries – U.S. soy’s biggest customers – as animal feed.

Beyond the agricultural and heating sectors, the economic benefits of biodiesel extend to multiple industries, including manufacturing, service, and transportation. According to Clean Fuels Alliance America, the biodiesel industry supports more than 75,000 jobs, $11.42 billion in economic impact, and $2.54 billion in wages paid. The National Oilheat Research Alliance estimates that roughly 18-percent of these benefits can be attributed to the growing demand for biodiesel in the heating sector. This translates to 13,500 jobs, $2 billion in economic impact, and $450 million in wages paid.

Farm to Furnace

Because biodiesel is made from a variety of readily available feedstocks – all of which are surplus or byproducts of existing food supply lines – demand for higher blends of Bioheat® will provide a welcome boon to America’s farmers and ranchers. As the second largest user of soybean oil in the U.S. today, Biodiesel puts an extra 13 percent in soybean farmers’ pockets. The ability to make biodiesel from animal fats – including beef tallow, pork grease and chicken fats – benefits the poultry, beef, and pork industries by creating demand for products that didn’t previously exist. Additionally, increased demand for soybean oil helps temper the price of soy meal, which is used by the poultry and livestock industries – U.S. soy’s biggest customers – as animal feed.

Beyond the agricultural and heating sectors, the economic benefits of biodiesel extend to multiple industries, including manufacturing, service, and transportation. According to the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), the biodiesel industry supports 64,000 jobs, $11.42 billion in economic impact, and $2.54 billion in wages paid. The National Oilheat Research Alliance estimates that roughly 18-percent of these benefits can be attributed to the growing demand for biodiesel in the heating sector. This translates to 11,500 jobs, $2 billion in economic impact, and $450 million in wages paid.

The Bioheat® market provides feedstock growers and biodiesel producers a market during the off-season for on-highway biodiesel demand, which peaks in the summer.

Quality, Reliable Warmth

Bioheat® fuel has been thoroughly tested by the most prominent fuel research organizations in the world. Independent studies by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Southwest Research Institute, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the US Department of Agriculture have shown that ASTM grade biodiesel can blend seamlessly into ultra-low-sulfur heating oil with even greater benefits to performance, human health, energy security, and global climate change. Recently, a study by Brookhaven’s Sustainable Energy Department on “B20 to B100 Blends as Heating Fuel” found that higher blends appear to actually reduce service related issues in today’s heating oil equipment, making it the cleanest, most reliable heating fuel available today.

“The transition to higher blends of biodiesel can occur with low costs and little impact on the consumer.”

Sustainable Energy Technology Dept.

Brookhaven National Laboratory

“Many of the farms you see out in the Midwest are multi-generational, family-owned businesses just like yours. These business leaders are excited to work with your industry and help it grow. We have a fuel that we believe is a really great product. That product, with your product, is an even better product.”

Donnell Rehagen

CEO, Clean Fuels Alliance America (speaking to heating fuel retailers at a 2019 industry event)

An American Success Story

The majority of Midwestern farmers and heating fuel distributors in the Northeast are multigenerational family businesses that contribute essential products to the economy, bring employment to their communities, and hope to pass on their businesses to future generations. However in recent years, increasingly challenging market conditions have left many questioning their ability to do so.

Renewable liquid heating fuel provides so much more than a clean source of warmth. To hundreds of thousands of hardworking farmers and fuelers, Bioheat® is a source of hope. These two stalwarts of American industry are coming together to grow a market for a homegrown renewable fuel that will enable their businesses to secure a place in tomorrow’s clean energy economy, while immediately benefitting their communities, our country and our planet.

An American Success Story

The majority of Midwestern farmers and heating fuel distributors in the Northeast are multigenerational family businesses that contribute essential products to the economy, bring employment to their communities, and hope to pass on their businesses to future generations. However in recent years, increasingly challenging market conditions have left many questioning their ability to do so.

Renewable liquid heating fuel provides so much more than a clean source of warmth. To hundreds of thousands of hardworking farmers and fuelers, Bioheat® is a source of hope. These two stalwarts of American industry are coming together to grow a market for a homegrown renewable fuel that will enable their businesses to secure a place in tomorrow’s clean energy economy, while immediately benefitting their communities, our country and our planet.

“Many of the farms you see out in the Midwest are multi-generational, family-owned businesses just like yours. These business leaders are excited to work with your industry and help it grow. We have a fuel that we believe is a really great product. That product, with your product, is an even better product.”

Donnell Rehagen

CEO, National Biodiesel Board (speaking to heating fuel retailers at a 2019 industry event)

“Individuals and communities across the country are going be affected by net-zero transitions in different ways. All Americans will be crucial partners in this transition, and we must be sensitive to the needs and values of communities when planning and implementing the very significant infrastructure and other developments needed to get to net-zero.”

George R. Tynan

Professor, UC San Diego Center for Energy Research

Situation

Imprudent Decarbonization Policies Threaten Clean Energy Progress.

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Strategy

Education, Legislation & Continued Innovation

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Action

Together, we can forge a better future for all.

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“Individuals and communities across the country are going be affected by net-zero transitions in different ways. All Americans will be crucial partners in this transition, and we must be sensitive to the needs and values of communities when planning and implementing the very significant infrastructure and other developments needed to get to net-zero.”

George R. Tynan

Professor, UC San Diego Center for Energy Research