Renewable diesel beating conventional diesel on price and performance

Renewable diesel, which over the past few years has attracted fleets on the West Coast for its cleaner profile and reduced maintenance impact, is now gaining attention for more competitive pricing versus conventional diesel.

Not biodiesel. Though sourced from many of the same materials, renewable diesel undergoes hydrotreating, a process used in conventional fuel refinement, which further reduces the fuel's emissions, enhances its cetane value to as high as 90 and eliminates gelling and phase separation.NesteOn Monday, renewable fuel vendor Propel advertised on its app Diesel HPR selling for $6.69 a gallon at its Wilmington station near the Port of Long Beach. The state’s average for conventional diesel on Monday, according to AAA, was $6.97 a gallon, a 4% uptick over Propel’s renewable diesel. Propel’s Hemet location was even cheaper at $6.65 a gallon.

Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), noted that Low Carbon Fuel Standard credits were now 41% above the $78/ton number seen earlier this month, and up to $110/ton on murmurs of CARB potentially discussing Carbon Index numbers at its July 7 meeting.

Propel’s E85, which contains 85% ethanol, offers even greater savings for flex fuel users. A gallon of E85 at that same Wilmington station was priced at $4.09 a gallon compared to the state average for regular gas at $6.31, a 43% increase.

“Demand has never been stronger for Propel fuels,” Propel Fuels CEO Rob Elam told CCJ. “Domestically-sourced, low carbon fuels can provide more value at the pump than imports, as well as higher performance in trucks that use them.”