incredibly important and has done
a lot to advance the industry.
Customers want to trust what
they are buying, and BQ-9000 has
helped resellers — the people
who touch the fuel — with their
handling of it.”
Oregon customers have come
to appreciate SeQuential’s style.
“We have spent a lot of time and
energy trying to simplify the value
proposition. We collect, refine
and refuel and put that back in
the tank and we tell a simple story
about building a better energy
model. A lot of consumers are
searching out better choices,
whether they’re buying direct
carbon offsets, or a hybrid
electric car, or paying for a solar
installation on their house.”
Sequential has been trying to
mirror the organic produce movement.
“People are searching out organic food
and the values that go with it, like
sustainability and the health aspects.
I think that same theory and mindset
applies here, and that’s why biodiesel is
such a compelling offering.”
Oregon is highly supportive of
biodiesel, according to Keever. “The
state has done a great job. Every gallon
of diesel sold here has 5% biodiesel in
it. That breaks down a lot of resistance
from OEMs and the petroleum industry
who were saying, ‘Oh no. You can’t go
that high.’ Oregon is a cold state. We
have a lot of regions that get down
below zero for an extended period of
time, and we have proved that that
works.”
He believes the biodiesel industry
can do more to market its products
effectively. “We need to sell the
molecule. We need to spend more time
working on selling higher blends beyond
B5, beyond B10 and really push for a
B20 standard,” he said. “Biodiesel has
78% less CO2 on average than petroleum
diesel, and our product has 15% of
the carbon intensity of that petroleum
diesel! It’s a way better product, but we
need to do more as an industry to sell
the molecule, push higher blends, get
manufacturers on board, and get the
traditional fuel distribution infrastructure
more comfortable with higher blends.”
SeQuential enables wholesale
customers to customize the fuel they
buy. “We have a few terminal positions
with inline rack blending, so we can offer
any blend you want. We have a dozen or
so pumps that offer B99 and blend down
to B50 and B20 as the weather gets
really cold.”
During winter, the company
proactively adjusts its dispensers and
works with wholesale customers to
blend down their tanks. “We want to
make it an easy process for them, and
the best winterizing agent available now,
unfortunately, is petroleum diesel.” Years
of experience have shown SeQuential
and its customers that B20 works well
year-round, even in the dead of winter.
While winter blending
is perfectly manageable,
inconsistent federal biodiesel
policy is highly problematic,
according to Keever. “The
disruptions to the Renewable
Fuel Standard and the
Biodiesel Tax Credit make it
really hard to grow consistently. When
you are trying to raise capital and you
have a policy that is expired, that hurts
our ability to get traditional financing.
We need a longer-term horizon. If they
really want to unleash the potential of
the industry, the federal government
needs to give us 10 years of consistent
policy.”
Keever sees an important role for
biodiesel going forward. “Biodiesel isn’t
the be-all and end-all, but it is a very
good, logical next step. It is an available
solution that works in our current
infrastructure and vehicles today. It
has immediate impact, and it’s a clear
contributor as part of a comprehensive
solution. In order to have a healthy,
diversified energy supply, we need to
look at all the different energy sources
out there. Biodiesel has a seat at the
table and earns it.”
$11.4 billion biodiesel’s economic impact, 2016
Biodiesel Success Stories 31