The Port of Longview is beginning a switch to renewable diesel at a cost considered to negligible compared to what the agency currently spends on conventional diesel.
The board of commissioners were briefed on the recommended switch to renewable diesel fuel during an update on its climate action strategy Wednesday at the port’s regular meeting.
Port of Longview staff recommended the switch to R99 or 99% renewable fuel following a presentation that showed costs within a 1 percent variation from traditional fuel — and significant benefits.
Amy Boyd, environmental manager for the port called the presentation “a pretty big step forward in our climate action strategy,” first adopted by the commissioners in November 2023.
Dale Lewis, director of external affairs, said by email Wednesday that the renewable diesel will be phased in immediately. No votes were needed at the Wednesday meeting because commissioners already approved the port’s climate action strategy.
When looking at its carbon emissions for 2024, more than three-quarters stemmed from “mobile combustion”: with 14% being on-road combustion engines and 64% occurring offroad. Boyd told commissioners the port explored three avenues toward reducing that impact: electrification, gas-electric hybridization or renewable fuels.
“We preferred renewable fuel usage because it’s a drop-in fuel that’s chemically identical to petroleum products,” Boyd said.
Renewable diesel is made from fats and oils such as soybean or canola oil and is processed to be chemically identical to diesel fuel derived from petroleum, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. It differs from what’s known as “biodiesel” in that renewable diesel meets United States standards from ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, and thus the renewable fuel can be blended and mixed with petroleum diesel.
Port staff informed commissioners that the fuel standard would also mean it could transition without emptying its tanks.
Renewable diesel burns cleaner than petroleum diesel, according to the Department of Energy. It cites a National Renewable Energy Laboratory study showing that the fuel emits lower carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions than petroleum diesel.
Boyd tasked operations procurement and environmental teams to look into the renewable fuel. She described the benefits as significant.
“What we are looking at is a 77% reduction year-over-year if we adopt renewable fuels for the entire fleet — which is possible,” Boyd said.
Larry Landgraver, equipment and fleet manager at the Port of Longview, presented the results of a request for proposals issued last fall that compared pricing for all fuels, which included some 97,000 gallons of diesel — 92,000 gallons dyed and 5,000 clear — in conventional ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel compared to renewable diesel.
“We see that pricing is within 1% variation of traditional fuel right now, and actually the taxes are a little bit lower on renewable diesel,” Landgraver said, adding that “it really is a drop-in fuel.”
“We don’t have to clear out our tanks, we can make the switch to renewable diesel, we can also go back to traditional diesel at any time, the diesel is actually supported by a local vendor for our supplier here … the fuel is actually stored in Longview and is readily available at anytime that we need them,” Landgraver added.
The switch is supported by labor and port staff, according to slides in the report.
Because Wilcox and Flegel sells renewable fuel in Longview, Landgraver said another advantage is that the port was further able to negotiate the waiving of delivery fees with the local vendor.
Commissioner Allan Erickson, who attended the meeting remotely from Washington, D.C. as part of a lobbying trip with the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, said he was “shocked” that the pricing was so favorable, but voiced concerns about the fuel’s costs later on. Erickson mentioned that he is hearing much about renewable diesel especially for rail applications.
“I question the long-term availability of the product in terms of all the competition for using it,” Erickson said. “Are you convinced that this is going to continue to be readily available to us — and particularly at these prices?”
Landgraver said they can go back-and-forth as needed.
“If it doesn’t become available or the price becomes too high … we can do that at any time,” Landgraver said. “We do have that flexibility if anything happens in the future, but as of right now it is readily available for us to use at the amount that we need to use here to support our operations.”
Erickson gave “kudos” to the port staff for finding a solution “at a really competitive price.”
“I look forward to utilizing this and what a great opportunity it is for us to reduce our carbon footprint and continue our environmental pathway forward,” Erickson said.
Commissioner Evan Jones concurred, praising staff and telling them to “keep kicking ass.”
