Michigan fairs take biodiesel fuel for a spin

Michigan fairs take biodiesel fuel for a spin

Alternative source cleaner, could be cheaper in future

By Brian Charlton

 

Associated Press

 

FRANKENMUTH - The Bavarian Festival looks, sounds and smells like most other traveling amusement shows - except for one small detail.

 

Small children take slow spins on the horse carousel, while bigger ones flock to the more adventurous Gravitron. Adults stroll along, eating funnel cakes and greasy french fries.

 

In the midst of all this sits an unassuming trailer. Inside is a 350-kilowatt generator that powers the festival. The only sign of the generator is the black power cords that snake across the ground.

 

But it wasn't always this way. The generator used to release a thick, black smoke.

 

"It was bad. When the smoke floated into the rides you couldn't breathe, and it would make you cough and gag," said Tracy Elliott, co-owner of the Mason-based Elliott's Amusements, the show's operator.

 

Since Elliott's switched to biodiesel to run its food stands, rides and employee housing, the smoke looks more like rising heat.

 

The Bavarian Festival is one of about 60 county fairs, carnivals and hometown festivals in the state that will be powered by biodiesel this summer as amusement companies search for solutions for high diesel prices.

 

The fairs are among a growing number of industries looking to biodiesel as an alternative source of fuel because of rising energy costs. At least 40 school districts in Michigan are powering their buses with it, 26 state parks are using it, and colleges including Michigan State University have switched to biodiesel to run their fleets of diesel vehicles.

 

Biodiesel is made with different percentages of diesel fuel and extracted soybean oil or sometimes animal fats or other vegetables oils. The cost for traditional diesel and biodiesel are about the same right now, but if diesel prices keep going up, the biodiesel eventually will cost less.

 

Amusement company owners say while they're not saving money yet, giving biodiesel a test run is worthwhile because of the benefits of having cleaner air at shows.

 

According to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study, the most common biodiesel, B20, cuts carbon monoxide and particulate matter emissions by 12 percent and hydrocarbons and sulfurs by 20 percent.

 

Livonia-based Wade Shows Inc. also is using the mix at its early shows and is likely to use it for the rest of the summer, said Wade President Frank Zaitshik.

 

"It's just a combo of finding alternative sources of energy and reducing demand on foreign oil," he said. "I guess crisis makes everyone move along at a faster pace."