B20 Club welcomes Naperville Park District, Warner Petroleum as new members
Naperville Park District and Warner Petroleum Corp. were recently accepted this spring as new members of the B20 Club, a partnership between the Illinois Soybean Association and the American Lung Association that recognizes Illinois organizations with a strong commitment to the use of 20 percent (B20) or higher blends of biodiesel.
“The B20 Club of Illinois represents a select group of more than 22 fleet members that have made a commitment to combat climate change and protect human health by reducing their carbon footprint and lowering tailpipe emissions with drop-in biodiesel blends,” said Bailey Arnold, program lead for the B20 Club of Illinois and director of clean-air initiatives for the American Lung Association. “Our members have used more than 85.5 million gallons of B20 and higher biodiesel blends in nearly 5,000 fleet vehicles, reducing carbon emissions equivalent to planting more than 2.7 million trees, and providing an estimated health-savings benefit of more than $16.5 million to local communities since 2014.”
Some of the benefits of membership in the B20 Club include partnership opportunities, webinars, competitive grants, promotions, fuel quality, technical services and training.
Naperville Park District
Currently, Naperville Park District is one of only two Illinois park districts to be accepted into membership.
Located in both DuPage and Will Counties, Naperville Park District works to preserve and promote a clean, healthy, sustainable environment through a variety of initiatives and best practices.
The park district’s fleet has been designated as an Illinois Green Fleet by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois Alliance for Clean Transportation (formerly Chicago Area Clean Cities) since 2014, running on a diverse mix of alternative fuels, with B20 biodiesel, propane, hybrid and all-electric vehicles and equipment.
“The Naperville Park District manages more than 2,400 acres of park land in Naperville, the fourth-largest city in Illinois,” said Brad Wilson, executive director. “Stewardship of the environment has long been one of the district’s core values. The use of B20 allows us to reduce emissions while improving the performance of our diesel equipment.”
Ron Kindred, vice chairman of the Illinois Soybean Association, added, “The Illinois Soybean Association is excited to welcome the Naperville Park District to the B20 Club. With this new partnership, we can continue to reduce carbon emissions across our state by using a more efficient, cleaner fuel grown right here in Illinois.”
Warner Petroleum
Warner Petroleum is a second-generation, family-owned company that provides marine-fueling services in the Great Lakes region via terminal positions in Chicago and Detroit.
“What excites me about being a member of the B20 Club, in addition to the environmental friendliness of biodiesel, is the supply chain,” said Jason Smith, vice president of marketing supply for Warner Petroleum. “One of the things I think is a unique opportunity here is that we actually have the feedstock. So, if you ran a benefit-cost analysis well above and beyond biodiesel consumption, you’re also mitigating a massive amount of miles for trucks and trains.”
Warner Petroleum runs its tugboats on biodiesel and utilizes a fuel flat to provide B20 blends to marine customers and tank trucks.
The use of their biodiesel is primarily driven by domestic fleets on the lakes but does have potential to go international with Canadian customers.
Exploring biodiesel since its infancy, Warner Petroleum has been excited to see biodiesel demand grow in the Midwest, especially since there is so much produced in the Great Lakes region.
“One of the immediately beneficial things about getting biodiesel on vessels is that you’re making an impact right away versus a truck,” said Smith. “Fueling one boat with biodiesel is like filling anywhere from 300 to 700 trucks, so that really allows us to make a big impact.”
The use of biodiesel in marine vessels is a relatively new and growing market for the biodiesel industry.
As marine operators look to decarbonize their operations, biodiesel is a nontoxic and biodegradable option that is available now to lower tailpipe and carbon emissions in vessels operating on the Great Lakes and beyond.
Warner Petroleum is being brought on as fuel marketer under the associate-member category, joining Growmark, Chevron Renewable Energy Group, Incobrasa and Targray.
To visit the B20 Club webpage, go to https://www.ilsoy.org/b20-club/.
-adjusted-to-spec.jpg)
