Medford, NJ School District
“It is environmentally
advantageous....
you’re reducing
your petroleum
usage by 20%”
One area where biodiesel was initially
disadvantaged was pricing. Medford
could purchase traditional diesel fuel
for $0.55/gallon, while the biodiesel
was priced at $1.83. By 2016, however,
biodiesel supplies and availability had
improved, and the district was able
to procure its biodiesel blends at the
same price as ULSD. The $0.02/vehicle
mile reduction in operating costs led to
savings of $10,000 to $12,000 from the
use B20 blends, according to Biluck.
“It’s economically advantageous
for the district. It is environmentally
advantageous, and from an energy
security perspective, you’re reducing
your petroleum usage by 20%,” he said.
While the operational cost savings
have been very beneficial, they are just
the first chapter in Medford’s biodiesel
success story. The district also enjoys
great appreciation from the community
for its commitment to the environment.
“The feedback we have received from
the community is that they are proud of
the fact that the district is progressive.
I was fortunate to work for a school
board that expects their administrators
to investigate progressive methods to
improve their operations. It is part of the
district’s DNA.”
The district’s success with biodiesel
paved the way for more energy
innovations. Medford outfitted four of its
seven schools with geothermal heating
and cooling systems and installed the
state’s largest solar energy array. “The
economic benefits of those sustainability
projects were huge in that we were
able to release some $300,000 of our
operating budget and realign those funds
to support the district’s educational
goals,” Biluck said.
The district’s teachers use the
biodiesel fueling facilities as a teaching
tool to expose students to alternative
energy adoption. “We have some
fantastic opportunities to enhance our
instructional environment,”
he said. “We can use our fleet
facilities as a lab to expose
kids to career paths that
they might not otherwise
consider.”
Medford’s commitment to
alternative energy makes the
district a better workplace,
according to Biluck. “People have a
feeling of pride working in a district that
encourages progressive thinking and not
just doing the same old thing day after
day.”
Medford’s students benefit directly,
because the district has improved
teacher retention, and it has an
advantage in recruiting new talent.
“Teachers want to be part of this
program, and families do too,” Biluck
said.
Biodiesel adoption had a few rough
moments early on. The district ran
into fuel plugging problems when,
unbeknownst to them, a heat exchanger
failed in a railway car that was delivering
biodiesel, and the cold fuel blended
badly. The district used block heaters
and fuel heaters to melt the solids and
get the fuel flowing properly. Since that
incident, he noted, biodiesel producers
have begun using cold-filtering processes
that reduce the incidence of solids falling
out of the fuel, he said.
The district also learned about the
importance of inspecting tanks before
adding biodiesel. “We focused a
lot more on tank maintenance, and
that’s just good business. If you’re
not maintaining your tanks now, you
should be, because even at a blend as
low as B2 or B5, biodiesel will dislodge
contaminants, and you’ll get filter
plugging in your dispensing pumps.
2.8 billion gallons of
biodiesel produced annually
People want to blame the fuel, but
the fuel is just revealing a preexisting
problem in the tank. I always advise
people to inspect their tanks before they
introduce biodiesel.”
Given the success he has witnessed
in Medford, Biluck hopes the federal
government will strengthen its support
of biodiesel. “I would like to see the
Renewable Fuel Standard increase to
allow the biodiesel market to expand
beyond 2.2 billion gallons of annual
production,” he said.
Biodiesel Success Stories 27