Is Biodiesel expensive?

Good question! Keep reading ...

No, biodiesel is not expensive.

However, the cost of high-quality, commercial-grade biodiesel at the pump is higher than the cost of petro-diesel at the pump.

The cost calculation should not start or end with the price at the pump. For example, at $4.50/Gallon for biodiesel, a Jetta TDI still costs less fuel-$$ per mile than a Jetta on regular gas (@ $3.50 for regular).

More importantly though, petroleum is a limited resource, and so every gallon we burn today is a gallon our kids won't have to produce clothes or medicines with. Most importantly, the price at the pump does not figure in the public health cost associated with burning petroleum (asthma, and other respiratory diseases), the cost of cleaning up oil spills, the cost of "securing resources vital to national security" (=war) - to mention just a few that come to mind.

Also, you can easily beat the price at the pump if you make it yourself. If you get the feedstock at no cost (say, used fryer grease from the restaurant down the street) you can produce biodiesel very inexpensively (as low as $1/gallon).

Questions? drop us a line at
juicebox [at] bullcitybiodiesel [dot] org