Seattle's first biodiesel fuel station owned and operated by a national retailer is located in the Admiral District.
The Safeway gas station at 4115 S.W. Admiral Way is now equipped with a self-serve biodiesel pump with a mixture of 80 percent petroleum diesel and 20 percent diesel made from soybeans. Biodiesel mixes with petroleum diesel and any car or truck with a diesel engine can use the fuel without making engine modifications, according to biodiesel producer Renewable Energy Group.
Biodiesel emits about 78 percent less carbon dioxide than petroleum diesel.
At $2.85 a gallon, biodiesel is more expensive than any of the three grades of gasoline being sold at the Admiral Way station.
Safeway has about 270 gas stations around the nation and its Admiral Way station is the company's first to sell biodiesel.
The national grocer aims to install additional biodiesel pumps at new Safeway stores planned for Ballard and Crown Hill. One is to be built near 15th Avenue Northwest and Market Street. The other is planned for 15th Avenue and Northwest 85th Street.
Safeway will use Seattle as a test market to see how well the biofuel sells. Seattle is the guinea pig because the city and state "lead the nation when it comes to encouraging and accepting alternative energy and fuel options," said Greg Sparks, president of Safeway's Seattle division.
Dressed in a dark pinstripe suit, Mayor Greg Nickels pumped the first tankful of biodiesel during a press conference at the Admiral Way station last week. While most of the fuel nozzles are red for gasoline, the biodiesel pump has a green nozzle. It's located at the station's southwestern most pump.
"There's a great deal of interest and hopefully it will prove there's a market," the mayor said before wielding a green biodiesel pump nozzle and filling the tank of a Volkswagen TDI.
The diesel fuel being sold at Safeway's Admiral Way station is made from soybeans. Biodiesel also can be made from vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled restaurant grease. It is biodegradable and produces fewer hydrocarbons and particulates.
Tim St. Clair can be contacted at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.
