AUGUST 25, 2004 - Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth (DLEG) Director David C. Hollister announced today that the Capital Area Producers Cooperative (CAP Co-op) will receive a biodiesel infrastructure grant from the DLEG Energy Office.  This grant will help the co-op pilot a creative way to reduce renewable fuel prices through bulk purchasing and to make such fuels more accessible to farmers through a mobile delivery system. 

CAP Co-op founding member John Oakley said members have long been hoping to devise a way to “use what they produce” and to become less dependent on foreign oil.  The $24,500 grant will be applied to the purchase of two tankers that will become  “mobile B20 stations” from which biodiesel can be delivered to local farms.  Oakley estimates participating co-op members will consume approximately 1 million gallons of B20 (a mix of 20% biofuel and 80% diesel) during the 2004 harvest and the 2005 spring planting seasons. 

“This project demonstrates how our grants can help innovative businesses get started, and in this case we are excited to see renewable biofuels powering local agriculture,” said Hollister.  “Biofuel use is important not only for economic growth, but also for energy security.”

Biodiesel is a cleaner burning fuel that can be made from domestic, renewable resources such as vegetable oil. It can be used in any diesel engine with few or no modifications. Many municipal, state and federal fleets have successfully moved to B20.  Recent experiences with B20 in Michigan school buses suggest that biodiesel’s cleaning properties extend time between oil changes and actually lead to increased fuel efficiency.

Funding for this biodiesel grant was made available through a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (www.energy.gov).  The grant is administered by DLEG’s Energy Office through the Michigan Biomass Energy Program (MBEP); its Web site is www.michigan.gov/biomass.   For additional information, please contact John Oakley of the CAP Co-op at (517) 204-4791 or bigjohnoak@aol.com or MBEP Coordinator Dulcey Simpkins at 517-241-6223 or dlsimpk@michigan.gov. 

Read more Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth news releases.