Local biofuels. Local biofuels, also sometimes called sustainable regional biofuels, are biofuels that are produced locally, using local, sustainable non-food inputs, and used locally. Examples of local biofuels include converting restaurant waste oil (WVO) to biodiesel, or using locally produced algae feedstocks to make biodiesel or ethanol.
Environmental benefits. Biofuels provide dramatic air quality and other environmental benefits over petroleum fuels. For example, in Arizona, simply converting all local WVO to biodiesel for use in place of petrol diesel would save 100,000 tons of CO2 annually from Maricopa County air.
Local biofuels provide significant environmental advantages over non-local biofuels (e.g. corn ethanol or soy biodiesel), and do not displace food crops.
Economic development benefits. Developing a local energy infrastructure creates jobs and dramatically boosts regional economies. Keeping even a modest portion of the dollars that currently flow out of a region to pay for fuel would be "game changing" for a region.
Regional economic security. Experience has shown that the petroleum fuel infrastructure in many regions is fragile and subject to disruption, as we have seen first-hand in Arizona. Local fuel sources mitigate this risk.
Geo-political benefits. Reducing dependence on foreign oil helps the U.S. disentangle from complex geo-political situations.
