green,” he said. “You can use it in your
heating oil and in your vehicles. You
don’t have to buy new vehicles.”
In 2006, the AltWheels alternative
fuel convention honored Harvard as
the highest-volume biodiesel fleet in
Massachusetts. Now the university
is not even in the Top 5 for the state.
“That sort of tells a story about
biodiesel gaining acceptance, and I like
to think we’re a part of that,” Harris
said. “It’s nice to think we helped raise
the visibility and prove that it could be
done.”
Harris has enjoyed sharing his
experiences with fleet managers at
other universities and institutions.
Harvard has a lot to offer by way of
guidance, because the university not
only fuels with biodiesel, but also
performs its own vehicle maintenance.
“There have been no problems at
all,” Harris said. “I can count on one
hand all the cold flow challenges
we’ve had in 13 years, and they are
not unlike what any diesel user would
have. Engine problems have also been
non-existent. Every vehicle we have
procured or leased since 2004 has
gone through its lifecycle without any
mechanical challenges related to the
use of biodiesel.”
By the end of 2014, Harvard had
used a cumulative total of more than
1 million gallons of B20 fuel and
continues to use about 100,000 gallons
per year. Harris is pleased to use a
fuel that benefits the environment
and economy is so many ways. “When
you go to a biodiesel event and hear
the farmers say how biodiesel gives
them a market for soy oil beyond
the cosmetics market, that’s great.
Biodiesel supports a whole supply
chain and creates jobs. It’s good
for the country, and clean-burning,
and it is part of why we are not so
dependent on foreign oil. I hope it will
continue to play a part on our energy
independence.”
Harris would like see biodiesel
integrated into the fuel market as
completely as ethanol is. “The only
challenge that exists today is getting
biodiesel in your fuel,” he said. “When
you go to the pump in Massachusetts,
you’re mandated to buy up to 10%
ethanol, but you don’t have that kind
of mandate for biodiesel, so retail
availability of biodiesel remains very
limited in the state. In most cases, you
need to source it yourself and have
your own dispensing facilities. To the
extent you have to build your own
fueling infrastructure, that’s probably
the one challenge people face in trying
to use more biodiesel.”
If he owned a diesel vehicle, he
would like to be able to drive it coast to
coast and find biodiesel at every filling
station. “Even as we find cheaper ways
to extract oil and become exporters
of oil, we can still find a place for
biodiesel, because it’s a sustainable
fuel,” he said.
David Harris
Director of Transit and Fleet Management, Harvard University
It’s nice to think
we helped raise
the visibility and
prove that it
could be done.”
Biodiesel Success Stories 23