Bob Brown

Special Projects Manager, Western States Oil Company 

Bob Brown was intrigued when he learned from chemical salesman Jim Clark that someone in Las Vegas was turning used cooking oil from casinos into a fuel called biodiesel. He soon found himself in Vegas where he was given a tour of that process from Russ Teall, then owner of Las Vegas Biofuels. Russ also gave Bob the foundations of a great biodiesel education and a 300-gallon tote full of biodiesel. As part of the flurry of research Russ had inspired and because there was no way he was going to make or sell something he didn't really believe in, Bob conducted his own test by putting that fuel into the tank of his own diesel truck, which of course, ran great on it.

It was early 2000, and Western States was looking initially to purchase one of Russ' plants and put it at the headquarters of this family-run business in San Jose. But because of some company changes, the decision was made to put the plant idea on hold and to start selling biodiesel as a jobber or marketer (delivering to the wholesale and commercial trade with their company owned truck fleet) through Russ, who already had customers in the SF Bay Area. What really enticed Bob was that he had learned from Haycock Petroleum in Nevada that selling biodiesel was, in fact, proving to be quite good for business and that they had gotten contracts with school districts specifically because of the biodiesel.

As an early adopter of biodiesel, Western States definitely had a learning curve beyond what Russ had taught them. Within a year, which included a few hiccups and some time spent troubleshooting vehicle problems, the overarching lesson - quality, quality, quality - became crystal clear and a few basic requirements were put in place. Western States began to require certification of clean tanks and that all of their drivers first check for water before putting any biodiesel into those tanks. Not just once, but every time.

"With biodiesel you do have to do a bit of housekeeping, because success boils down to quality control," Bob says. Western States does this housekeeping using proprietary software developed by consultant Dave Williamson. The company knows the chemical values of the biodiesel in all of their tanks; they cold-filter everything going in and everything going out; and track every Certificate of Analysis (C of A) from every product and supplier, batch, and tank using this software. Because they keep track of ASTM values and track the variation between lab tests done on the fuel, they often see problems before their customers do.   And they are able to ensure that what the C of A says is in a truck, is what is actually in the truck. Now, with tolling agreements in place with a few different producers, Bob is quick to stress his concern with another aspect of quality, that quality fuel only comes from quality feedstocks.

When asked about the economic and regulatory storm of 2008-2010 that destroyed or set back many biodiesel companies, Bob says that Western States' biodiesel fueling survived because they are fortunate to be located in an area with "extremely green" people and communities, including the cities of San Francisco, Berkeley, and Santa Cruz, which the company supplies with biodiesel. They also benefited from the federal regulations under EPACT that mandate the use of renewable fuels by utility companies, like PG&E and water companies, who earn one commodity credit for every 450 gallons of biodiesel they use. The company did scale back, then discontinue its own B99 retail dispenser fueling at locations in San Jose and San Leandro due to Water Board regulations.

Today, Western States has B100 fueling and 2 new terminals. In addition to the one at their main headquarters in San Jose, a new terminal, which offers bottom loading for oil companies and retail dispenser B100 fueling from a Pacific Pride card lock system, is now open immediately adjacent to the Kinder Morgan property on Kruse Drive in San Jose. That terminal was built with funding from the California Energy Commission's AB 118 program. Western States also received funding through the National Biodiesel Foundation to put in a terminal on Seaport Boulevard in Redwood City, which is just now getting up and running.

The company's strategy on when to sell the LCFS credits they acquire is still being developed. But they move as quickly as possible to sell their RINS, because of the volatility in the RIN market. Western States is happy to have a RIN partnership with one of their diesel suppliers, to whom they can sell RINS directly because of the assurance of the validity of those RINs provided by Western States' quality measures and administrative team.

Bob says that the biggest challenge facing biodiesel in California is regulatory uncertainly and the fact that the average consumer is not willing to spend extra for biodiesel. Biodiesel provided by Western States powers Google and Apple fleets with B20, even when the price goes up, but small mom and pop companies only use it when there is parity in pricing with diesel. He believes that cities can help bridge that gap by having companies they do business with write the use of renewables into their bids. This would begin to increase biodiesel fueling by fleets and provide a boost to that market.

Since learning about biodiesel and seeing its benefits, Bob has been a big biodiesel promoter, including to other jobbers. He encourages them not to fear change and points out that because of RFS2 and LCFS, not only are low carbon fuels inevitable, but that the sooner they embrace them, the sooner they can enjoy a new product line and a new source of revenue that can turn a profit.

Bob Brown, with the support of Western States President, Steve Lopes, is a leader among petroleum marketers in embracing biodiesel and in developing new quality control systems needed for success. CBA is happy to have Bob serving as our newest board member and very much values the unique knowledge and perspective he brings to our industry.

Thank you for your time and efforts on behalf of biodiesel in California. I look forward to working with you.