Our industry ’ s biggest battles , victories , threats and opportunities of the past 12 months By Sean Cota , NEFI , and Thomas J . Tubman , AEC

Unlike previous columns written independently by NEFI or AEC , this one would be the product of both groups working together with input from our respective members , supporters and state association partners . Additionally , in this spirit of collaboration , the article would not be published by any one magazine , but instead made available to all of the major trade publications covering the liquid heating fuels industry .

For the name of the column , we chose to go big and bold . “ The Renewable Revolution – Turning Vision Into Reality ” speaks to the ambitious end-game of our associations and the critical nature of our work , namely ensuring the survival and growth of Main Street America ’ s liquid heating fuels industry for future generations . Over the past 12 months , we have seen some tremendous victories on this front while also confronting a number of new and intensifying challenges .

This article provides a recap of some of our industry ’ s biggest stories of 2021 , with an eye toward the opportunities and threats that liquid heating fuel businesses may continue to see in the months and years ahead .

EXPANDING ACCESS TO LOW- AND ZERO-CARBON HEATING FUELS

The question of supply has always been one of the biggest issues surrounding our industry ’ s adoption of cleaner fuels . This year , however , we have made some incredible strides , beginning with our successful efforts to ensure that heating oil distributors would be eligible and considered for costsharing grants under the U . S . Department of Agriculture ’ s Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program ( HBIIP ). To date , under this program , nine heating oil suppliers from six Northeast states have been awarded $ 11 million for terminal upgrades that are expected to increase biodiesel sales in the region by over 473 million gallons . HBIIP grant recipients represent several of the biggest heating oil wholesalers in the Northeast , including Buckeye Terminals and Global Companies , among others .

Of course , it ’ s not only wholesalers driving the industry ’ s adoption of renewable liquid heating fuels ; retailers have also taken the ball and ran with it . Earlier this year , Star Group L . P . — parent company of Petro Home Services , one of the largest liquid heating fuel retailers in the U . S . — announced it would begin selling B20 to all of its approximately 400,000 heating oil customers . Also , in recent months , Hart Home Comfort — the Long Island based retail outfit owned by NEFI Vice Chair Ray Hart — began delivering B50 to all of its customers in the New York metropolitan area .

Adopting these higher blends of biodiesel is critical as we move toward the Providence Resolution ’ s goals of 15 % greenhouse gas reductions by 2023 and 40 % by 2030 . But to achieve the end-goal of net-zero emissions , our industry will need to leverage a full range of advanced and cellulosic biofuels . Here too , we ’ ve made great strides in 2021 . New York ’ s Vassar College has announced it is converting its campus from natural gas heating to

cellulosic biofuel derived from sawdust and tree trimmings . Additionally , cellulosic fuel producer Biofine Developments Northeast — makers of ethyl levulilnate ( EL ), a net-zero-carbon fuel made from forestry waste — announced it would a establish a state-of-the-art biorefinery at the site of a former paper mill in Lincoln , Maine . The company has also signed a purchase agreement with Sprague Operating Resources to help bring EL to market in the Northeast .

SUPPORTING AMERICA ’ S FAMILIES AND GRIDS THROUGH NATIONAL CRISES

Liquid heating fuels remain a key part of our nation ’ s critical infrastructure for several reasons , not least of which is their superior energy density . It ’ s for this reason that during times of peak demand , the grids in New England and New York turn to businesses like yours to help keep the lights on . We see this happen every winter , but the challenges to electric grids were perhaps best illustrated this past February when a statewide energy crisis in Texas led to widespread blackouts and hundreds of deaths . In the wake of this disaster , the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent 60 generators and 10,000 gallons of winterized fuel to Texas to help support the state ’ s recovery .

Of course , this wasn ’ t the only national crisis our industry responded to in 2021 . We have also continued to provide warmth , safety and comfort to millions of Americans as they face resurgences of the COVID-19 pandemic . Going beyond helping keep our neighbors safe at home and in their places of business , our industry has fueled testing and vaccination sites .

30 FEBRUARY 2022 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www . fueloilnews . com