N.Y. Power Plant Test Burns Green Biofuel Blends
Date: 13-Nov-06
Country: US
The Charles Poletti Power Project in Queens, an 885 megawatt plant that runs on natural gas or heating oil, ran biofuel from soybeans fuel blended with heating oil at concentrations between 5 percent and 20 percent. The tests ran for two days in late October.
Producers tout biofuel as an alternative to foreign oil that emits less carbon dioxide, the main gas scientists link to global warming, and other pollutants.
New York Gov. George Pataki issued an executive order last year requiring state agencies and public authorities to boost their use of biofuels, which include biodiesel and ethanol.
It was the largest use of biofuels on any single occasion in the United States, according to the plant's owner and operator, the New York Power Authority. About 100,000 gallons of soybean fuel were blended with 900,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil.
"The Power Authority's biofuel test signals new possibilities for green-power production that could lead to additional revenues for the state's farmers and the construction of new bio-refineries," Peter Smith, president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, said in a statement.
