HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-09-24 Public Comment - J. Therien - Fwd_ Sustainability Citizen Advisory Board - submissionFrom:Jesse Therien
To:Bozeman Public Comment; Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Fwd: Sustainability Citizen Advisory Board - submission
Date:Wednesday, May 8, 2024 10:14:48 AM
Attachments:INL Ren Diesel (Jumbo Postcards) (1).png
Letter to BZN Sutainability Board May 2024.pdf
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Hello,
Can you please share this with the Sustainability Citizen Advisory Board for tonight's meeting?
I previously sent this to the agenda email, but was missing the actual letter. So, here are both
attachments I meant to include and I've sent this to both agenda and comments emails.
Thank you!Jesse Therienjesse@ytcleancities.org406.570.0770
Good Evening,
My name is Jesse Therien and I live here in Bozeman.I also work with Yellowstone-Teton Clean
Cities,a non-profit organization supporting the deployment of alternative fuels and infrastructure
in Montana,Idaho and Wyoming.
I shared some information related to Renewable Diesel for the March meeting and wanted to
follow up here.
Firstly,R99 (99%renewable diesel)is now available publicly at the commercial fueling
network off of Jackrabbit in Belgrade.The city garbage trucks,and possibly others (any
Belgrade Streamline Routes),go by here daily and could easily take advantage of this
convenient location and the fact that there are only 5 states in the whole country where this fuel
can be had publicly!As an aside,this fuel can be used in anyone’s diesel equipment;cars,back
up generators,ground heaters,tractors,etc…
The current cost is $1/gal more than #2.I’m working to see if we can get it closer to $0.85/gallon
more as we’ve seen in WY and ID.Again,this can be blended at 50%making it a $0.50/gal
premium or whatever is required from a financial standpoint.
A related idea I’ve had and shared in the past is for the city to either require or prioritize
contractors who use R99 in their equipment.With the city’s reluctance to quickly implement RD,
a parallel approach might be to engage the private sector.This could be contractors for road
work,new construction,contracted jobs,whatever.If two bids come in close,but one states
they’ll use RD,perhaps this should be weighed more heavily as it helps with the city’s climate
goals.Also,many companies can quickly incorporate RD without having to get permission and
approval from all the other departments which may be responsible for slowing our city’s
progress.
Below is a graphic I made up to illustrate how simply using 12%renewable diesel in a fleet of 10
vehicles is the same as replacing one with electric.Or,using R99 in the fleet of 10 is like
replacing 8 of the vehicles with electric (from a lifecycle CO2 standpoint).
We have monthly regional meetings for our Renewable Diesel Working Group and everyone is
invited to attend.You can sign up,and find more info about RD,here:
https://ytcleancities.org/projects/fuels/#renewablediesel
These meetings have been quite popular and we’re working on a national Ski Resort RD Group
with many resorts including Boyne,Vail and others from New Hampshire to British Columbia.
There is great interest in Renewable Diesel and we should be leading the way!
Lastly,for convenience,here are QR codes to some of the resources we typical share:
Thanks!
Jesse Therien,PhD
Project Manager -MT
jesse@ytcleancities.org
406.570.0770