Edina Turns to Biodiesel for Heavy Vehicles After Ruling Out Electric
The Edina City Council discussed its pilot program to convert dump trucks and other heavy vehicles to soybean-based biodiesel fuel, after determining that electric alternatives were too expensive and could compromise city services like snow removal.
At a work session on December 16, Edina officials outlined the city's strategy for reducing emissions from its fleet of heavy vehicles, including dump trucks, snow plows, and fire trucks. The city concluded that converting these large vehicles to electric power was not feasible due to high costs and concerns about maintaining reliable service during Minnesota winters.
As we look at our larger vehicles like our snow plows, our fire trucks, our dump trucks, it's just much more expensive to add that electrification component," a city official explained. "And so it was just cost prohibitive, but also there was a concern around service levels.
Instead, the city has launched a biodiesel conversion program, starting with 10 tandem dump trucks. The vehicles will run on B50 and B100 blends — fuel made entirely or partially from soybeans grown in Minnesota and refined in Albert Lea. Officials said the soy-based fuel eliminates petroleum-based hydrocarbons from emissions. To handle Minnesota's cold winters, the city installed separate heated and insulated fuel tanks to prevent the biodiesel from freezing.
The project has secured funding from multiple government sources, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and federal dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act. Officials noted the USDA was particularly interested because the program supports Minnesota's agricultural economy alongside environmental goals.
The biodiesel initiative is part of Edina's 2021 Climate Action Plan, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. City officials expressed optimism that the program could serve as a model for other municipalities in cold climates. "It's a win-win for Edina residents, Minnesota farmers, and a successful model for other cities," an official said, adding that the approach maintains service levels while being cost-effective.
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As we look at our larger vehicles like our snow plows, our fire trucks, our dump trucks, it's just much more expensive to add that electrification component. And so it was just cost prohibitive, but also there was a concern around service levels.
A fuel source that's basically a soybased blend that takes all the hydrocarbons out of the emissions. So if you have none of the oil base. It's all a soybean based. So there's no oil. That means cleaner air for everyone.
We switched over to a B50 blend just to try to clean everything up as far as the emission standpoint. So, it needs a completely separate fuel tank just to keep it separate. And then the fuel tank needs to be heated during the winter and insulated because the B100 will freeze up. And we tried that with a few vehicles at a time and it worked great.
The biggest one is the United States Department of Agriculture is funding this uh because this project not only supports our climate goals, but it also is really going to support the Minnesota's agricultural economy since all the soy will be largely grown in Minnesota and refined down in Albert Lee.
It's a win-win for Edina residents, Minnesota farmers, and a successful model for other cities to say this is an option. you can deploy it in a cold climate and you can maintain service levels and do it in a cost-effective manner.
I was really excited about it because it would allow us to keep our service levels and also then remove that emissions from our fleet inventory as we think about our greenhouse gas emissions and achieving our climate action plan goal.
Source document
This fall, work to make the city's fleet of heavy vehicles more environmentally friendly shifted into high gear. Large dump trucks used for everything from hauling gravel to plowing snow will be switching over to a new fuel source next year, biodiesel. And the source for that fuel is grown right here in Minnesota. Edina TV shows us how Minnesota farmers are helping to fuel cleaner air in the city. >> Some Adina trucks are going organic. Edina residents are concerned about the health of the environment. So in 2021, the city implemented a climate action plan with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and being totally carbon neutral by the year 2050. While Edina has been steadily adding electric cars to the fleet, going electric with larger trucks isn't practical. As we look at our larger vehicles like our snow plows, our fire trucks, our dump trucks, it's just much more expensive to add that electrification component. And so it was just cost prohibitive, but also there was a concern around service levels. >> The answer came from soybeans. They are used to create biodiesel fuel. >> A fuel source that's basically a soybased blend that takes all the hydrocarbons out of the emissions. So it you have none of the oil base. It's all a soybean based. So there's no oil. That means cleaner air for everyone. The city began a pilot program to see if cold temperatures might be a problem when using biodiesel fuel. >> We switched over to a B50 blend just to try to clean everything up as far as the emission standpoint. So, it needs a completely separate fuel tank just to keep it separate. And then the fuel tank needs to be heated during the winter and insulated because the B100 will freeze up. And we tried that with a few vehicles at a time and it worked great. The trucks will also get slightly better fuel mileage. To fund the conversion of 10 trucks, the city looked to multiple sources, including the US Department of Energy, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The biggest one is the United States Department of Agriculture is funding this uh because this project not only supports our climate goals, but it also is really going to support the Minnesota's agricultural economy since all the soy will be largely grown in Minnesota and refined down in Albert Lee. >> It's a win-win for Edina residents, Minnesota farmers, and a successful model for other cities >> to say this is an option. you can deploy it in a cold climate and you can maintain service levels and do it in a cost-effective manner. So, I was really excited about it because it would allow us to keep our service levels and also then remove that emissions from our fleet inventory as we think about our greenhouse gas emissions and achieving our climate action plan goal. >> For a TV, I'm Kenneth Gaml. >> A large insulated and heated tank for storing the biodiesel is under construction and will be delivered in the spring. 10 tandem dump trucks will be fully switched over by then. The rest of the fleet will be evaluated to potentially run on B100 biodiesel as older trucks are replaced.
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Other Topics from This Document
Biodiesel Fuel Conversion Program
Climate Action Plan Implementation
Funding and Multi-Agency Support
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