Some Michigan fairs make the switch to biodiesel

 

FRANKENMUTH, Mich. (AP) — 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 and Zipper attractions. Adults stroll along, eating pretzels, funnel cakes and greasy french fries.

 

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

 

But it wasn't always this way.

 

The generator used to release a thick, black smoke from its vents that could be seen from across the fair and would sometimes bother those enjoying the rides.

 

"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 Elliott's Amusements LLC, 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 blurring one's vision on a hot day. The company also is using biodiesel in its trucks that lug the show from city to city.

 

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 Michigan-based 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, some trucking companies are turning to it and colleges including Michigan State University and the University of Michigan 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 its shows and helping local farmers who grow soybeans.

 

Biodiesel advocates say the fuel reduces the black smoke associated with diesel, emits a french fry-like smell and lowers emissions, making the air safer to breathe. 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.

 

Elliott's Amusements, operators of the carnival part of the Bavarian Festival and about 25 other shows, and McDonaghs Amusements Inc., which runs another 20, are using B20 — a mix of 20 percent soybean oils and 80 percent diesel — at its shows this summer.

 

Livonia-based Wade Shows Inc., which is the largest amusement company in Michigan, 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. Wade also runs the carnival part of the Michigan State Fair and state fairs in Delaware and Oklahoma as well as the Tennessee Valley Fair, North Alabama State Fair, Alabama National Fair and the South Mississippi Fair.

 

Standish-based Schmidt Amusements is considering switching to the alternative fuel for its more than 40 shows, but has held off because of the added cost — prices for biodiesel sometimes are slightly higher — and the worry about availability, owner Joy Schmidt said.

 

While biodiesel is more environmentally friendly, some users don't want to switch to the fuel without significant cost savings. Also, while most diesel providers will deliver biodiesel, companies have to do a little digging to find where it's available.

 

Sixty-five plants are producing biodiesel in the United States and about 50 others are under construction, according to the National Biodiesel Board. In Michigan, plants are under construction in Milan, Bangor and the Upper Peninsula's Gladstone.

 

And the demand is growing, as 150 million gallons of biodiesel are expected to be produced and sold this year, up from 75 million gallons in 2005 and 25 million in 2004, the board reports.

 

To encourage the amusement companies to try biodiesel, the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee has approved $11,500 grants for both Elliott's and McDonaghs to offset any extra biodiesel costs, said field operations director Keith Reinholt.

 

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

 

For Wade Shows, the cost of diesel doubled in the past two years, rising to $1.6 million in 2005. The cost has become so prohibitive that the company eliminated a trip from New York to Michigan, cutting six smaller fairs off its schedule. The company has about 100 rides and often splits into three separate traveling units, Zaitshik said.

 

McDonaghs Amusements switched to B20 this season for 20 shows after diesel costs tripled in the past three years to $8,000 a week, said Matt McDonagh, the Chesaning company's chief operations officer.

 

Elliott's Amusements, based in Mason, paid $30,000 more in 2005 than the previous year for about 50,000 gallons of diesel. Co-owner Debbie Elliott said when energy prices outpaced labor and insurance costs for the first time, she decided to take the matter into her own hands.

 

"We can talk about it all we want," she said. "Someone has got to get out there and who better than us? I want to help create the market and get us into the forefront."