The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) had a role to play in the purchase of the sleek new shuttles on campus, with electronic signs that tout “runs on biodiesel.” According to a press release from New Hampshire Senator John Sununu’s office in August 2005, the FTA gave a reported $990,028 to UNH in order to “improve transit maintenance and fueling facilities, acquire new alternative fuel vehicles, and emission retrofit existing buses used on the Wildcat Transit and Campus Connector.” FTA funds paid roughly 80 percent of the buses’ cost, according to Beverly Cray, manager of UNH Transportation Services.

The buses run on B20 fuel. The “20” in B20 indicates the percentage of biodiesel mixed with regular petroleum-based diesel, or petrodiesel. Approximately 17 vehicles in the UNH fleet have made the switch to B20. Says Cray, “I think its good, anything for the environment.”

According to a report filed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), B20 cuts the emission of particulate matter by 12 percent and reduces polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitrated PAH by 13 and 50 percent, respectively. Both these substances are related to health risks associated with burning diesel fuel. The report goes on to explain that smog-causing nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons are also reduced.

Biodiesel also cuts the emission of CO2, the primary gas associated with global warming. A 1998 study by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated that biodiesel reduces net CO2 emissions when compared to petrodiesel. “This is due to biodiesel’s closed carbon cycle,” the study stated. “The CO2 released into the atmosphere when biodiesel is burned is recycled by growing plants, which are later processed into fuel.”

“They tend to run smoother,” says Nate Brown, veteran bus driver for UTS. “Anything to help the environment… I am glad to not see them belching out smoke.” So far, Brown has had no problems with the B20 buses.

However, according to the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), biodiesel has a higher gelling point than petrodiesel. If diesel gels, it could clog fuel filters or fail to start. Despite reports of gelling in other cold winter communities that use B20, the NBB claims that B20 reacts similarly to regular petrodiesel in frigid conditions.