Burke Oil awarded Mass. biodiesel contract

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Posted Oct. 13, 2010

The state of Massachusetts recently renewed its biodiesel contract with Chelsea, Mass.-based fuel distributor Dennis K. Burke Inc. The bid enables all public entities to purchase biodiesel from Dennis K. Burke, including department of public works, state hospitals, correctional facilities and universities.

Massachusetts is expected to purchase about 750,000 gallons of blended biodiesel under this contract, reducing its carbon footprint and benefiting the state's residents.

Chairman of the Board Ed Burke said the company has been awarded the state contract since 2007, and previously had supplied the state with biodiesel blends under pilot programs.

"It's important for us to be identified as the state's biodiesel supplier," Burke told Biodiesel Magazine. "It makes it hard for others though, because we have to bring so much stock in that it definitely gives us an advantage in this space. It's a critical mass issue."

Burke said state agencies are mandated under executive order to use biodiesel blends, and this contract allows them to purchase biodiesel blends at a discount to retail.

The Chelsea-based supplier also won a separate bid to supply biodiesel-blended fuel to the city of Boston.

Massachusetts passed a B2 biodiesel mandate that was set to take effect in July, but the state postponed it largely due to the expiration of the federal blenders tax credit. Even so, Massachusetts' public entities and fleets continue using biodiesel, as they have been for several years. "We're proud to remain Massachusetts' primary biodiesel vendor," Burke said.

For more than a decade, Dennis K. Burke has been a pioneer in bringing biodiesel and alternative energy sources into the mainstream. Along with being the first retailer of biodiesel and E-85, the company has been partnered with the state's major biodiesel usage pioneers, including Harvard University, Taunton State Hospital, National Grid and the City of Boston.