ONEONTA, NY -- Most of the city's fleet of vehicles is now running on B20 biodiesel, Mayor John Nader, according to the Daily Star newspaper. Nader said Central Garage Supervisor Paul Patterson promoted, researched and implemented the city's switch to the fuel. The B20 blend requires no engine modification, but Nader said some of the warranties for some city vehicles needed to expire before the fuel could be used in those engines. City purchasing agent Edith Polhamus said B20 is being used in the bulk of the city's vehicle fleet, including 14 Oneonta Public Transit buses and in nearly all of the fire department's trucks and ambulances. The city used 169,000 gallons of vehicle fuel in 2005, with 138,000 of that being diesel, Polhamus said. The rest was unleaded gasoline. The B20 purchase was part of a joint competitive bid with the Oneonta City School District and Otsego County, Polhamus said. Mirabito received a grant from NYSERDA in 2004 to install biodiesel infrastructure and purchase biodiesel fuel for Sidney and Oneonta. The grant was for $142,800 and covered about 75 percent of the project. Nader said the "obvious next step" in making the city's vehicle fleet more environmentally friendly will be to look at using hybrid or electric vehicles. Vehicles used in Neahwa Park, Nader said, could be switched to electric.
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