The advent of Bioheat® fuel has put oil-heated homes in New Jersey on a super-efficient and ultra-clean path. This blend of renewable biodiesel with ultra-low-sulfur heating oil has already led to a cleaner, more efficient fuel and will eventually take us to a carbon-neutral future.
If you’re unfamiliar with biodiesel, it is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard program. Biodiesel is nontoxic, biodegradable, and renewable. Biodiesel is produced from a variety of “feedstocks.” including agricultural by-products and coproducts, such as used cooking oil, animal fats, inedible corn oil, soybean oil, and canola oil. These products are refined into high-quality liquid fuels that meet rigorous standards set by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM).
Using Bioheat fuel to warm New Jersey homes saves money because it burns more cleanly than regular heating oil. This means a heating oil system will burn fuel more efficiently.
Bioheat fuel is also kinder to the environment because it generates fewer emissions than conventional heating oil.
Many heating oil companies in New Jersey now deliver Bioheat fuel. This is not just helping to reduce carbon emissions right now. It will continue to reduce more emissions each year as it eventually evolves into B100, an all-biofuel home heating fuel.
It’s estimated that widespread regional use of Bioheat fuel already lowers the amount of carbon dioxide emissions going into the atmosphere every year. Those emissions will shrink even further as the ratio of biodiesel blends gets higher in the years ahead.
That time will arrive sooner than you may think. It was recently announced that production of fully warrantied oil burners with B100-compliant components has now become a reality.
Five years ago, hundreds of heating oil industry leaders set forth their clean energy goals in the Providence Resolution, a landmark commitment to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The resolution called for a 15% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2023, a 40% reduction by 2030, and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
To figure out if the industry had hit its first goal, Dr. Tom Butcher of the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) conducted a study, and his findings were nothing short of phenomenal.
The latest data showed that the industry had far surpassed its first GHG goal. Instead of achieving just 15% by 2023. the industry achieved a nearly 26% reduction in GHG emissions!*
This was made possible through a combination of energy efficiency improvements and increased use of renewable Bioheat® Fuel. Other recent success stories include:
Ultra-low sulfur heating oil has been the standard in New Jersey for years now. Here are fast facts: