Nobody knows where a cleaner, more sustainable energy source will eventually come from: nuclear, hydrogen or what.

But right now, there’s a better fuel source right down the road. Right on the Spur, to be specific.

Last week, the San Miguel Country Store began pumping a biodiesel mix that the gas station’s owner hopes can make a small difference for the climate, the economy, and the American Farmer.

“It’s the wave of the future,” said Bob Kauflin, who owns the Shell station with his wife Jody. “It’s a decision for a better environment.”

The fuel is a mix of 80 percent regular diesel with 20 percent of clean plant-based fuel.
The mix, called B20, puts out 24 percent less carbon monoxide and 29 percent less hydrocarbons, say the manufacturers, Blue Sun Biodiesel.

The only catch: the biodesiel Kauflin pumps is a little more expensive than standard diesel. It costs $3.85 a gallon, compared to about $3.71 for regular diesel at Society Conoco.

But, Kauflin says, “I’m actually making less money on a gallon of biodiesel.” His margins are lower, but the benefits are measurable in air quality. “It’s not a money thing,” he says.

Telluride businesses and commuters are already pumping.

Telluride Eco Cleaners used to have to get its biodiesel for its delivery vehicle in Montrose.

“We’re really excited that it’s here,” says Meagan Preece, co-owner of Telluride EcoCleaners. “We’re hoping everyone that can use it takes advantage of it.”

Hillary White is one local driver who said she’ll pump the biodiesel from the Country Store into her Volkswagen Jetta.

“I will use it for sure,” she says. “I like running as much biodiesel as possible.”
And Bone Construction has at least two trucks that will use the pump.

Kauflin hopes enough people are willing to pay the extra 14 cents a gallon for the environment.

He started thinking about bringing in biodiesel about six months ago, when he heard Telluride’s Charris Ford and Daryl Hannah talking about it on a radio program. After he was approached by representatives from Western Petroleum in Montrose, which distributes the biodiesel, and Blue Sun in the Denver area, which produces it, he decided to carry the product.

“It is growing, absolutely,” said Danny Hawks, manager of Western Petroleum in Montrose, which distributes biodiesel to lots of farmers and construction companies and even supplied to Telluride’s biodiesel-equipped Galloping Goose bus.

People who like biodiesel have a long list of reasons why it’s a better alternative to regular fuel: it’s made in America and so will reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil; it’s cleaner and will reduce pollution; it’s a better lubricant and reduces wear and tear on the engine; and some say it gives you better gas mileage.

And compared to ethanol, the corn-based fuel touted by Iowa farmers and the presidential candidates who court them, biodiesel offers a much higher energy ratio. Ethanol requires twice as much energy to create the same amount of power as biodiesel does, says John Long, co-founder of Blue Sun.

Any diesel engine can run the Country Store’s B20 biodiesel without any modifications. And this biodiesel, unlike others, doesn’t freeze and gum up the engine until about 25 degrees below zero.

The plants are grown in the Midwest. The biofuel is made there, taken by train to Denver of Alamosa or Salt Lake City, where it’s blended with regular diesel.

Come fall, Blue Sun will be producing biodiesel from Camilina seeds that were grown in New Mexico and Colorado and produced at their new factory in Clovis, N.M.

“We’re working hard to develop more oil-seed crops,” Long says, that have a higher energy output and don’t have to be transported from the Midwest.