Biodiesel Support Prompts EPA to Honor Music Legend Willie Nelson

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.– The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 will honor biodiesel advocate and singer Willie Nelson on April 18 in recognition of Nelson’s support of the cleaner burning fuel. During the agency’s eighth annual Environmental Awards Ceremony in San Francisco, U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Wayne Nastri will recognize Nelson’s environmental efforts that promote biodiesel.

Biodiesel, a diesel fuel substitute made from soybean oil and other natural fats and vegetable oils, works in any diesel vehicle. It can be blended with petroleum diesel at any level. The most common blend is B20, a mixture of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent diesel. In February, Willie Nelson Biodiesel, the company in which Nelson is a partner, and Pearson Ford Fuels in San Diego joined forces with distributor Plavan Petroleum to create California’s first fulltime “BioWillie” B20 retail outlet. BioWillie is the singer’s unique brand of fuel.

Nelson first heard about biodiesel two years ago. He said that upon learning about it from his wife, Annie Nelson, it made perfect sense to him. “I said, ah ha, this is a light at the end of the tunnel, a way we can grow our way out of some of the problems we are in. I wanted to do something to help get the word out.”

Nelson began promoting biodiesel on a national scale. As a founding member of Farm Aid, he has been a tireless advocate for farmers, while he also shares a kinship with America’s truckers. Willie Nelson Biodiesel is his approach to make biodiesel more available to truckers. Nelson premiered the business at Carl's Corner, a truck stop south of Dallas, in October 2004. Since then, he has opened public pumps at truck stops nationwide. His advocacy has dramatically increased public awareness of biodiesel, especially within the trucking industry.

The EPA Region 9 Environmental Awards program acknowledges commitment and significant contributions to the environment in California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Pacific Islands and tribal lands. EPA selected 39 groups and individuals from more than 160 nominees received this year from businesses, media, local, state and federal government officials, tribes, environmental organizations and citizen activists.

“These groups and individuals have applied creativity, teamwork and leadership in addressing many of the West’s most pressing and complex environmental problems,” Nastri said. “Thanks to their efforts, our air, water and land will be cleaner and safer for generations to come. The winners set an example for all of us to follow.”

The award is another example of EPA acknowledgment of biodiesel’s value to America. During a keynote address at the National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in San Diego last February, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson recognized the important role biodiesel can play in helping to clean up the nation’s air and wean the U.S. from its dangerous addiction to foreign oil. “Our country is on the verge of a dramatic change for our power, our cars, our homes and our business. And innovation – including innovations in biodiesel – is the catalyst of this change,” Johnson said during the conference.

Johnson added that he believes “Twenty-five years from now, we can make foreign sources of oil go the way of the typewriter and the Walkman.”

Greenline Industries, a biodiesel facility designer and builder, nominated Nelson for the award and also won an EPA award of its own.

Biodiesel reduces emissions while offering similar performance to petroleum diesel. Biodiesel has the highest energy balance of any liquid fuel. For every unit of energy used to make biodiesel, 3.2 units are gained.

Biodiesel has become America’s fastest growing alternative fuel according to the Department of Energy. Production tripled in 2005, reaching 75 million gallons. More than 700 filling stations make biodiesel available to the public, and 1,500 petroleum distributors carry it nationwide. More than 600 fleets use biodiesel, including government fleets like the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as military, commercial and school bus fleets.

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