Fuel from recycled cooking oil on sale in NevadaSPARKS, Nevada,USA, 5/24/2001 (AP) _ Biodiesel fuel made from recycledcooking oils at casino hotels and restaurants went on sale in NevadaTuesday, the first public access fueling station in the nation to offerthe biodegradable fuel that reduces emissions.Western Energetix Cardlock, a Reno-based division of Berry-HinkleyIndustries, began offering the fuel at a station in Sparks just south ofInterstate 80. Other fuel stations in California were following suit onWednesday.Biodiesel runs in any diesel engine without the need for any enginealterations, usually as a 20 percent blend with 80 percent petroleumdiesel, the manufacturers say.The Las Vegas-based Biodiesel Industries developed a process to make thebiodiesel fuel from waste cooking oils with the help of grants from theNevada Energy Office and the U.S. Energy Department's Western RegionalBiomass Energy Program.Backers of the yellow fuel say it replaces black sooty exhaust with alighter exhaust that smells like french fries.Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Nevada Department ofEnvironmental Protection consider it to be an alternative fuel because itsubstantially reduces carbon emissions."By taking our waste cooking oil and turning it into biodiesel, we are notonly cleaning up the air at a reasonable price, but also creating jobs,"said Jim Brandmueller, outgoing administrator of the Nevada State EnergyOffice.Because biodiesel costs three times as much as regular diesel, addingbiodiesel even in small amounts raises the cost of the fuel by severalcents per gallon. It was selling in Sparks for $1.62 per gallon.Biodiesel actually goes back to Rudolf Diesel's first engine in 1895,which burned peanut oil. Although biodiesel reduces emissions of carbonmonoxide and soot, it slightly increases emissions of smog-causingnitrogen oxide.State and municipal fleets in Las Vegas first evaluated biodiesel in June1999. Interest grew to Northern Nevada with the demonstration of the BioBug, a Volkswagen Beetle in the Nevada Motor Pool that runs on biodiesel."When we showed local fleet managers the Bio Bug and described thebenefits, they all wanted to try it," said Norma McCusker of WesternEnergetix Cardlock based in Reno."Given our large customer base with government and private fleets, wedecided to make it available to everyone at one of our stations," shesaid.Biodiesel Industries now has a plant operating with Haycock Petroleum inLas Vegas and recently entered into a contract to provide 1 milliongallons of biodiesel to the Las Vegas Valley Water District, Clark CountyHealth Department and city of Las Vegas.Russ Teal, president of Biodiesel Industries, said the state's assistancewas key in "getting this project from a dream to reality..."I hope this can show communities all across America that biodiesel can bemade and used almost anywhere," he said.Approximately 20 million gallons of biodiesel are expected to be producednationwide this year, compared with 5 million gallons in 2000, accordingto the National Biodiesel Board.