By Matt Curry for the
Associated Press in the Az Republic 1-15-05
===================================
The Arizona
Republic
Willie Nelson Sells
Biodiesel
Fuel Is Friendly To Air
And Farms
By Matt Curry, Associated Press
Arizona Republic Business Section,
1-15-05
DALLAS - On the Road
Again means something new for Willie Nelson these days - a chance for
truckers to fill their tanks with clean-burning biodiesel fuel.
Nelson and three partners recently formed Willie Nelson's Biodiesel, which is
marketing the fuel to truck stops. The product, called BioWillie, is made from
vegetable oils, mainly soybean, and can be burned without modifying diesel
engines.
It may be difficult to picture the 71-year-old hair-braided Texas rebel as an
energy company executive, but the singer's new gig is in many ways about
social responsibility - and that is classic Nelson.
"There is really no need going around
starting wars over oil. We have it here at home. We have the necessary
product, the farmers can grow it," Nelson said.
Nelson said last week that he began learning about the product a few years ago
after his wife purchased a diesel car in Hawaii, where the star has a home.
"I got on the computer and punched in biodiesel and found out this could be
the future," said Nelson, who now uses the fuel for his cars and tour buses.
Peter Bell, a Texas biodiesel supplier, struck up a friendship with Nelson
after filling up one of the tour buses, and the business partnership came
together just before Christmas.
Bell said Nelson's name will help the largely unknown fuel gain wider national
acceptance. The fuel's average U.S. price per gallon is $1.79.
"What Willie brings to this is the ability to communicate directly with a
truck driver. That kind of community is hard for people to get to," Bell said.
"When he starts talking, these folks really listen to him. ... It's like
having Tiger Woods talk about golf clubs."
A map on the National Biodiesel Board's Web site shows a heavy concentration
of distributors in the Midwest, but very few in other parts of the country.
Nelson's group is currently negotiating with Oklahoma City-based Love's Travel
Stops & Country Stores to carry the fuel at its 169 locations nationwide.
Dan Gilligan, president of the Petroleum Marketers Association of America,
says that making the fuel available in Northern states is a challenge.
"For terminals to store biodiesel, they have to store it in heated tanks to
avoid gelling problems. That's a challenge for the industry to overcome," he
said.
*
Written by Matt Curry for the Associated Press and reprinted in The
Arizona Republic Business Section 1-15-05.
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