District runs more than 1,200 school buses on biodiesel

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County Public Schools now has its entire fleet of school buses running on biodiesel, which has significantly reduced its use of traditional diesel fuel.

The district’s 1,274 buses are powered by B20, a blend of 80% petroleum diesel and 20% biodiesel.

Orange County Public Schools once used about 2.8 million gallons of fossil-based diesel fuel annually. The conversion to B20 biodiesel has cut diesel consumption by 560,000 gallons per year, district officials said.

The biodiesel use is part of Orange County Public Schools’ long-term “Green Fleet” program, which includes two other fuel-related initiatives:

• A capital bus replacement campaign that integrates newer, more fuel-efficient buses with stricter emissions standards into the fleet.

To promote the program, the district has placed a special “Green Fleet” decal on its buses. The decal was approved by the Florida Department of Education.

Orange County Public Schools runs one of the largest public school bus fleets in the U.S. The operation transports about 72,000 students daily and logs about 17 million miles per year.

Other recent news related to biodiesel:

• Biodiesel use decreased in 2014

• Alt-fuel tax credits extended