Biofuels help New York City achieve 67% reduction in fossil-fuel use over 13 years

The commissioner of New York City’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services, Louis Molina, announced Sept. 29 a major milestone in efforts to reduce fossil-fuel usage in the city’s fleet.

According to the latest mayor’s management report, the city has reduced fossil-fuel usage by 67 percent over the past 13 years, accounting for a reduction of nearly 20 million gallons of fossil fuel per year with the biggest reductions at the New York City Department of Sanitation, New York City Department of Transportation and NYC Parks.

“New York City is proving that a cleaner, safer future is within our reach,” Molina said. “Through renewable diesel, electrification and smarter fleet operations, we are cutting fossil-fuel use by millions of gallons every year and driving down emissions. We are proud to highlight this progress as proof that New York City is leading by example in the fight against climate change.”

Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said, “This year, we’ve transitioned the busiest municipal ferry system in the country to renewable diesel, moving more than 45,000 daily Staten Island Ferry riders with clean energy. When we all work together to green our transportation system, we can achieve our climate goals faster, showing the rest of the country how it can and should be done.”

To achieve this reduction, the city has worked over the past decade to modernize its fleet operations, utilizing new fuel types and vehicles, and installed real-time telematics to monitor all vehicles.

In October 2024, the city announced that the entirety of its heavy-duty fleet transitioned to cleaner, renewable diesel.

This June, DCAS and the Department of Transportation also announced that the Staten Island Ferry had completely transitioned to renewable diesel.

Over 30 million gallons of renewable diesel has now been successfully utilized with on- and off-road equipment, emergency and nonemergency, and in all seasons.

To further these efforts, DCAS is working closely with other agencies to expand the use of renewable diesel across the city’s marine operations, including the Department of Environmental Protection, the New York City Police Department Harbor Patrol, NYC Parks marinas, and the New York City Fire Department to test the fuel and expand usage further.

“DCAS employed a three-part plan to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions in fleet—electrify everything we can as soon as we can, replace fossil diesel with renewable diesel, and implement efficiencies,” said Keith Kerman, DCAS deputy commissioner and the city’s chief fleet officer. “The plan is working, and we have reduced 67 percent of fossil fuel use from the fleet towards our goal of at least 50 percent GHG reduction by 2025. On the way, we have built New York state’s largest electric vehicle, biofuel, telematics and electric-charging programs. Our next goal is 80 percent GHG reduction by 2035, which will be led through further electrification and efficiency.”