The city of San Diego has recently started using Neste renewable diesel in its vehicle fleet consisting of service trucks, refuse packers, dump trucks, construction equipment, and street sweepers, to name a few. By switching from conventional petroleum diesel to Neste renewable diesel, the city of San Diego joins California’s cleanest city fleets including the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Walnut Creek, Carlsbad, and Sacramento County.

“Air quality is a significant concern in many cities around the world today,” said Kaisa Hietala, executive vice president of renewable products at Neste. “Neste offers a drop-in solution for instantly reducing traffic-related local emissions and improving local air quality. We are very pleased that our innovative, low-carbon renewable diesel now benefits San Diego, the second largest city in California, as well as its inhabitants.”

While the switch from petroleum diesel to waste- and residue-based Neste renewable diesel helps improve local air quality, its use additionally reduces San Diego diesel fleet’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 percent, contributing to the city’s ambitious climate targets. More than 1,100 vehicles and equipment, representing approximately 25 percent of the city’s fleet, run on Neste renewable diesel, and no performance issues have been reported.

“This change will make a major part of our fleet greener overnight, creating more environmentally friendly vehicles that are cheaper to maintain,” said San Diego Mayor Kelvin L. Faulconer. “By transitioning to renewable diesel, we’re significantly reducing the pollution caused by city vehicles that serve the public on a daily basis. We’re leading by example and showing other cities how to make common-sense changes to improve the environment around us.”

“We are constantly looking for ways to make San Diego’s fleet more sustainable, and advancements in alternative fuels are making it possible,” said Alia Khouri, the city’s fleet operations director. “Renewable diesel is going to help a significant portion of our fleet run much cleaner with less wear and tear on the engines compared to petroleum diesel.”

Neste renewable diesel is supplied to the city of San Diego by The Soco Group, which is one of Neste’s distributors in California.

“The Soco Group is pleased to partner with Neste to provide the city of San Diego high-quality renewable diesel for their diesel fleet,” said Angus McDonald, president of The Soco Group. “I’m excited that our two companies can work together to provide a cost-efficient and reliable fuel solution to help the city of San Diego meet its climate goals.”