I just got home from Germany yesterday. I traveled though the Rhine Valley, Bavaria, and up to Berlin. Get this Bio Diesel is .90 eurocents a liter and Dino Diesel is 1.04 euro a liter. Bio Diesel is available at the fuel stations in Germany. Why is it so hard for this to happen in the USA?

 

Because the oil companies that control us don't want to lose any money so they don't allow it to be sold as freely.

 

First off, calculate the price in US$/gal for Diesel in Germany...(Around 5US$/gal). the main part of it is taxes.
The bio on the other hand is sold at reduced taxes in Germany. (There's a tax on the amount of carbon dixide you emit by burning the fuel, and since bio has taken the co2 out of the athmosphere to be produced you don't pay that tax for it)
Until now, at least over here, it's more expensive to produce bio than dino diesel. Tax offsets, where the state acually pays a part of the fuel , will lead to the situation like in Germany.
Since bio actually holds about 10% less energy per volume than #2 the kilojoule you buy costs about the same with bio as with #2- so the only downside that remains is that you've got to go to the fuleing station sooner after filling up with bio. Even though everybody complains about the high price of conventional, wants to sae the environment etc the German stations are having troubles selling the bio because German car mfgs will not allow you to run the stuff in the modern cars.

Just my 2c

AlpineRAM
(Running Bio for more than 100k miles in Austria)

 

I don't think big oil has anything to do with the availability of bio in the US. Back when diesel was cheap there's really no incentive to produce bio on a large scale because of the price. Now with dino diesel running at or about the same price of bio it's becoming a more lucrative business. Especially now with grant money available to start bio diesel production. Also believe there's a tax rebate on bio to make it more affordable.

MikeyB

 

Your right MikeyB there is a tax rebate for BioDiesel I think its 2 cent for every gallon...

What terible is the state of Idaho had 1 BioDiesel Station it currently closed and up for sale! I've never seen another one anywhere! I'm trying to get local store to try and switch to it but of course they are name brand stations...

 

I to believe, that given the chance... the big Oil companies will price their product to be a little cheaper than.... anything else......That is Hydrogen is a loser out of the gate.... Biodiesel will be a threat... until the oil companies own them...and electricity...other than regenerative applications....is a loser too..... The Oil Companies are to powerful...own too many politicians....to allow anything else to threaten them....Ask George....That being said, governments like Germany... who view the world energy formula correctly..... will encourage and promote the production of biodiesel in that they view it as a security issue rather than a " helping a buddy get rich..." issue....
Just my view.....

 

The reason BD is cheaper in Germany is good old supply and demand. They're about five years ahead of the US in producion but we're coming up fast and should exceed Germany's producion this year.

BD is just in it's infancy in this country, in 2003 around 5000 people were employed in the BD industry, by 2008 it is projected the industry will employ 180,000.
Be patent, it's coming.