said. “Creating policy that reduces our
reliance on traditional petroleum and
makes us greener is a big win in our
fight to make our communities healthier
and less afflicted with asthma.”
The benefits don’t stop there because
biodiesel can also bring down the cost
of indoor heating by expanding the
market for fuels. “We can keep more
money in people’s pockets from the
purchase of biofuel, which has been
either competitively equivalent to
traditional petroleum or less expensive
over the last several years,” the council
member said.
Biodiesel production also boosts the
local and national economies. “We are
creating jobs for recycling grease and
building markets for waste product from
soy crops,” Constantinides said. “We are
building a green economy with biodiesel
that will endure and improve New York
City’s tax base. From all sides, whether
from dollars and cents, job creation,
emissions reduction, or health, biodiesel
has been an important part of making
our city greener.”
Support for biodiesel has been strong
among New York City policymakers for
years. The city had previously moved to
B2 heating oil in 2012, and when Intro.
642 came up for final consideration in
2016, the City Council passed it by a
47-3 vote.
By contrast, only Long Island and the
downstate counties of New York State
have joined New York City in adopting a
Bioheat® standard.
Constantinides believes it is important
for the City Council to lead on the
environment. “As a city, we’re setting
standards for how much biodiesel is
utilized,” he said. “In adopting these
increasing blend levels, we are making
sure that we are setting a good fuel
standard for New York City in the long
term. We are saying that if you are
going to sell home heating oil, these are
the standards that we expect. These
standards will maximize our emissions
reduction and fight climate change.”
Environmental and health organiza-tions
such as League of Conservation
Voters, the Environmental Defense
Fund, and Empire Clean Cities have
come out in favor of the city’s biodiesel
fuel standards.
“The only entity that was really
against us was the American Petroleum
Institute,” said Constantinides. “They
spent close to a quarter of a million
dollars to kill my bill, and it didn’t work.
We had environmental groups that
were talking about the importance of
emissions reduction and public health.
We had the industry talking
about how biodiesel helps
build jobs. The other side
tried to spin their version
of the story but we stayed
focused on the truth and the
facts, and the bill won on its
merits.”
There have been no issues with supply
but the city has built “circuit break-ers”
into the legislation to suspend the
biodiesel requirements in the event of a
supply crisis or a price blowout. There is
also a seven-year gap before the switch
to B10 to allow equipment manufactur-ers
to prepare for the higher biodiesel
blends.
Constantinides would like to see
biodiesel powering vehicles of all kinds,
including New York’s ferry fleet. “If there
are opportunities for us to push the
envelope a bit, to continue to be
greener and make biodiesel part of that
solution, we’re going to seize those,” he
said.
86%reduction of lifecycle carbon
emissions by advanced biodiesel
Costa Constantinides
New York City Councilman
Biodiesel Success Stories 9