Biofuel backlash: High prices, pollution worries hit consumers
When King County Metro Transit signed a one-year contract last June to buy 2 million gallons of biodiesel made by Seattle-based Imperium Renewables, the agency didn't mind paying a few extra cents a gallon for the privilege of being green.
By running all its buses on a blend with 20 percent biodiesel, Metro Transit would radically cut its greenhouse-gas emissions and help lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
But in the last year, the promise of renewable fuels has lost a lot of its luster. Prices of biodiesel have almost doubled to about $6 per gallon, and many experts blame biofuel production for driving up food prices worldwide. Prominent scientists have questioned whether growing crops for biofuels produces more greenhouse gases than it prevents.
Now Metro Transit, the region's largest consumer of biodiesel, is "taking an indefinite pause" in buying the renewable fuel, said general manager Kevin Desmond.
"We're taking a hard look at it in terms of both its price and the science," he said.
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Does not look good for Bio in WA state.
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