Bush Promotes Biodiesel Fuel as an Alternative

WEST POINT, Va. —  President Bush praised biodiesel Monday as “one of our nation’s most promising alternative fuel sources” as he stepped up pressure on the Senate to pass his energy bill, which he said would reverse America’s dependence on foreign oil.

But Bush conceded there was little he could do in the short term to drive down gasoline prices.

“I wish I could just wave a magic wand and lower the price at the pump,” he said in a speech. “That’s not how it works. You see, the high prices we face today have been decades in the making.”

Bush addressed several hundred residents and workers at the Virginia BioDiesel Refinery, a year-old company that makes fuel from soybeans for use in diesel engines.

In touring the plant, Bush sought to highlight an emerging fuel that is relatively clean-burning and has grown in production from 500,000 gallons a year in 1999 to 30 million gallons last year -- an increase that makes biodiesel the fastest-growing alternative fuel in the country, industry leaders say.

About 500 transportation fleets around the country use the fuel, including the National Park Service, James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., and Arlington County, Va., school buses.

“Biodiesel burns more completely and produces less air pollution than gasoline or regular diesel,” Bush said. “Biodiesel also reduces engine wear and produces almost no sulfur emissions, which makes it a good choice for cities and states working to meet strict air quality standards. And every time we use homegrown biodiesel, we support American farmers, not foreign oil producers.”

Experts say biodiesel, which also can be made from recycled cooking grease, can be used in any vehicle that runs on petroleum-based diesel. But diesel-engine vehicles have not attained the popularity in the U.S. that they have in Western Europe, where nearly half of new passenger cars are diesel-powered. In the U.S., about 1% of cars run on diesel fuel.

The Environmental Protection Agency says biodiesel releases less carbon monoxide and fewer hydrocarbons and particles than petroleum-based diesel. But its price can be as much as 20 cents a gallon higher, says the National Biodiesel Board, an industry trade group.

Railing against the country’s growing reliance on foreign energy sources, Bush noted that 20 years ago, 75% of crude oil used in U.S. refineries came from American sources. Today, he said, the figure is 35%.

He called for the approval of “an effective, common-sense energy strategy” that would “solve the problem in the long run.”

Bush’s energy plan would offer incentives to conserve, open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and natural gas exploration, build new refineries, foster “clean coal” use, encourage nuclear power, and promote alternative fuels such as hydrogen and ethanol, which is derived from corn.

The House has approved Bush’s energy bill, which would mandate 5 billion gallons of renewable fuels in the nation’s gasoline supply by 2012. Senate leaders are writing an energy bill this week, and ethanol backers are pushing to set a standard of 8 billion gallons by 2012.

Requiring greater use of fuel derived from corn, soy and other agricultural products has enjoyed strong bipartisan support from farm-state lawmakers. Last year, the U.S. used 3.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel in the gas supply, and is projected this year to use about 4 billion gallons, said Monte Shaw of the Renewable Fuels Assn., the trade association for the ethanol industry.

Democrats said Bush, a onetime Texas oilman, was not doing enough.

“No photo-op can hide the fact that the Bush energy plan gives 90% of its tax breaks to big oil and gas and other fossil fuels, and less than 10% to alternative sources of energy,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). “That’s an 18th century strategy, not a 21st century plan.”

Before Bush delivered his remarks, he toured the refinery at Virginia BioDiesel, where a worker explained the intricacies of making biodiesel fuel out of soybeans. Bush listened attentively as he stood on a catwalk overlooking a room filled with giant cylindrical tanks.

When invited to scoop out a sample of the finished product, the president did so, offering a beaker of biodiesel to reporters on an adjacent catwalk.

“Anybody want a sip?” he said playfully.

“After you, sir,” came the reply.

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Times staff writer Richard Simon contributed to this report.