Imagine if a city's entire fleet of vehicles could seamlessly make the switch from fossil diesel to lower-emission renewable fuel overnight. Now, envision this fleet being powered by renewable fuel that is made from renewable raw materials, such as used cooking oil. Turns out this seemingly ambitious transformation is already a reality in Oakland, California—a pioneering model for global municipalities aspiring to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The endeavor is rooted in the principles of the circular economy, where waste is redefined as a valuable resource rather than, well, just waste. By doing this, cities, businesses and other organizations can quickly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and foster a more sustainable future.
The City of Oakland had made the switch to renewable diesel in 2015 – this, initiative was led by the East Bay Clean Cities Coalition, an organization that works with vehicle fleets, fuel providers, community leaders, and other stakeholders to save energy and promote the use of clean, alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies in transportation. At that time, restaurants within the city limits were already collecting and recycling used cooking oil, grease and other waste materials. Through a partnership between Neste, leading producer of renewable diesel, and Western States Oil (WSO), a privately held, family-owned lubricants and fuels distribution business, it became possible to connect the two: the fuel the city needed and the waste that was generated in it.
Together, a seamless value chain was created: from collecting locally-sourced used cooking oil coming from restaurants and other venues, to converting it with other raw materials to renewable diesel, and then supplying renewable diesel back to power Oakland’s fleet. This concept creates a win-win-win for the city, its businesses and its residents. It helps the local economy in and around Oakland, reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the city’s vehicles, and, of course, ensures that its food preparation waste and residues are put to good use.
For this program, Neste and WSO are able to show that the waste collected from participating local restaurants contributes to the production of a high quality renewable fuel with which the city can reduce its transport-related GHG emissions. This kind of a partnership can happen everywhere across the nation or even globally to change how people view and use waste and residue materials.
Since 2015, the City’s entire municipal fleet and machinery, such as garbage trucks, street sweepers, fire trucks and more, has been operating on Neste MY Renewable Diesel™. With the use of the fuel, the City of Oakland is now preventing nearly 2,840 metric tons of GHG* from entering the atmosphere per year, roughly the equivalent of the emissions from 7,300,000 miles** driven in a gasoline-powered car.
There are a multitude of local benefits to the city’s residents and businesses, including supporting local businesses, improving how restaurants handle their waste oil collecting and processing, and helping to increase the availability of renewable fuels in the region.
With this circular economy model, the City of Oakland is setting a positive example for the world.
This approach presents an accessible "today" solution, adaptable to any city. The essential ingredients are a consistent supply of waste materials and a fleet of diesel-powered vehicles poised to be refueled with renewable diesel—an achievable reality for most cities.
In the pursuit of reducing emissions, it is crucial to consider all sustainable solutions such as electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. However, some cities may not yet be ready to transition all vehicles to electric or there may be budgetary or infrastructure constraints. Renewable diesel is already well-prepared to meet today’s demands on a large scale. This readiness is evident in its compatibility with existing diesel engines, the established fueling infrastructure and its availability in markets that have adopted low carbon fuel standards.
With renewable diesel, greenhouse emissions from diesel-powered vehicles can be reduced significantly, which helps fight climate change. This already available low-emission solution seamlessly integrates into current refueling systems and engines, with a growing supply to meet demand. Beyond this, renewable diesel also offers more efficient combustion and a quicker ignition.
To summarize, the possibilities are limitless and extremely exciting. As demonstrated by efforts in Oakland, turning used cooking oil into lower-emission renewable fuels paves the way for forward-thinking businesses and cities to hop on more sustainable transportation practices and reap the benefits. Envisioning the transformative potential of repurposing the vast amounts of used cooking oil from countless restaurants in other states, paints a hopeful picture of the world that runs increasingly on renewables, ensuring a more sustainable path forward.
Simultaneously, it can contribute to keeping the circular economy going round and round.
*Lifecycle greenhouse gas emission reductions compared to fossil diesel and based on current feedstock pathways. Calculation method complies with the LCFS CA-GREET 3.0.
** According to EPA's Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator
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