http://www.nelsonstar.com/business/239511911.html
Local company uses biofuel for transport
by Staff Writer - Nelson Star
posted Jan 9, 2014 at 11:00 PM
For the first time since the horse and carriage, BC organic fruit is
again being delivered without fossil fuels.
Kootenay foodies and entrepreneurs Paul and Clare Kelly of Winlaw are
helping shoppers at organic grocers ‘green up’ their produce purchases
with their biofuel shipping company — Revolution Biodiesel.
“With much discussion around kitchen tables and in the media about the
carbon impacts of food miles, we sometimes feel a little helpless,” says
Paul. “Traditionally these food miles equate with massive volumes of
diesel fuel, used to move heavy fresh food from far away orchards to
packing houses, distribution warehouses, then on to retailers and
consumer markets.”
Perishable foods like produce; dairy, eggs and meat require additional
diesel fuel for the truck’s refrigeration unit. According to Paul, a
typical freight truck will use over 500 L of diesel fuel to bring a load
from Cawston (Canada’s organic fruit capital) to Calgary.
“Often these trucks return to the Okanagan empty or with a partial load,
making it a 1,000 L round trip,” says Paul.
Sourcing produce from California extends this round trip by over 4,000
kilometres, and consumes an additional 1,200 to 1,400 L of diesel fuel
per truckload, he says.
Making use of their contacts from a combined 25 years in Calgary’s
natural food sector, and fuel from their on-farm biodiesel plant, the
Kellys invested in a refrigerated truck that they could run on 100 per
cent post-consumer fryer oil derived biodiesel.
Additionally, by shipping directly from farm to retail store without
warehouse nodes, they are able to increase the share of retail proceeds
to the farmers, and dramatically reduce food miles. A backhaul of
Alberta organic crops such as feed, hay and straw ensures that the truck
is running full to capacity as much as possible.
While supply of true waste-to-energy biofuels is currently limited to
the 150,000 L per year of oil feedstock they collect from local
restaurants, the Kellys currently have enough biofuel to run up to three
semi-loads per week to Calgary — “moving over 120,000 lbs per week of
fresh organic BC fruit,” says Paul.
They are hopeful that new technologies such as diesel electric hybrids
become commercially viable as they grow, so that they can improve fuel
economy and “further extend their company’s ability to offset the carbon
footprint of your peaches and nectarines,” he says.
Their freight service maintained weekly deliveries throughout the 2013
BC produce season, hauling 250,000 lbs of produce, and covering nearly
100,000 kilometres from June through November, with no breakdowns or
damaged freight claims.
They served organic retailers in Nelson including Kootenay Co-Op,
Ellisons, and Endless Harvest. Farms who participated in the first year
venture included George Zebroff, Honest Food Farm, Vialo Orchards,
Schneider-Brown farm, Covert Farm, Mariposa Farm, Ven-Amour Orchards,
JMJ Farms (Rothes), Forbes farm, and wholesalers Direct Organics Plus
and Cawston Cold Storage.
Kootenay-made goods like Silverking Tofu, Sunshine Valley Organics
(eggs), In Your Face Foods (dips), Kootenay Bakery, and Soup du Jar were
also on board for delivery to Calgary retailers.
--
Darryl McMahon
Failures? We don't need no stinkin' failures.
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