Penske Truck Leasing is excited about renewable diesel and it’s easy to see why.
The Pennsylvania-based global trucking giant is seeing impressive performance gains, lower maintenance costs and reduced emissions in California where all 32 of their locations are now fueling up Penske trucks with renewable diesel following a recent supplier agreement with Shell.
Switching to the biofuel, which is produced from plant and animal matter, has led to less maintenance expense, according to Penske’s vice president of energy and fuel supply Josh Tippin, thanks largely to the fuel’s cleaner burn.
While Tippin can’t nail down an exact cost savings since Penske’s trucks fuel over the road outside of California where renewable diesel is mostly unavailable, he did say that “we agree with the majority of the studies that are showing around a two cent per mile maintenance when compared to traditional diesel.”
Tippin said the fuel’s cleaner burn has reduced diesel particulate filter maintenance and is “causing a reduction in that maintenance cost.”
[Related: Fuel groups argue that Biden decarbonization blueprint undoes trucking's emissions reduction efforts]
