The city of South Portland has launched a pilot program to fuel select municipal vehicles with locally made biodiesel.

In a partnership with Maine Standard Biofuels, the city will use a blended fuel containing up to 20 percent biodiesel, commonly referred to as B20. The pilot project will run for a year to test the efficacy of the fuel in all conditions.

If successful, South Portland said in a press release, it would plan to incorporate biodiesel into the fuel used by the entire fleet of city-owned vehicles, including buses and snowplows.

The question of whether the use of biodiesel would be feasible was one of the recommendations in the city’s Climate Action Plan, which was adopted in 2014 with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and moving away from the use of fossil fuels in favor of non-toxic alternatives.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has called biodiesel “one of the cleanest and most efficient” ways to achieve these goals, according to the press release.

In addition, biodiesel can reduce carbon emissions in vehicles by as much as 80 percent depending on the blend, the press release added. Maine Standard Biofuels recycles used cooking oil to make biodiesel at its Portland-based refinery.

The company collects the used oil from restaurants all across New England, including more than 30 in South Portland, the press release said.

“In fact, South Portland generates enough used cooking oil to make nearly 60,000 gallons of B20 biodiesel fuel (and) that fuel (could) reduce CO2 emissions by over 200 tons,” the release said.

“We are excited to be working with the city to pilot biodiesel in their vehicles,” said Jarmin Kaltsas, president of Maine Standard Biofuels. “It is fantastic that the city can use a clean fuel made from grease collected (right here) in South Portland.”

Julie Rosenbach, South Portland’s sustainability coordinator, acknowledges that in the past there have been issues with biofuels.

But, she said, “That is why we are conducting this pilot program. I am excited to partner with a local company using a waste product to develop a sustainable fuel to turn this experience around.”

– Kate Irish Collins

Art Handman, director of transportation for South Portland, left, and Rick Sargent, operations supervisor, fill the gas tank of a city bus with a biodiesel mix under a pilot program launched recently.