Landscaper to Fuel Truck Fleet with Own Biofuel Crop
A large Florida landscaping business has planted a 22-acre biomass crop at its nursery that will produce enough fuel to operate its fleet of 25 diesel trucks.
Brian Shank, president of Clermont Scapes in Groveland, Florida, said he decided to plant a 22-acre plot of Jatropha in order to save money for his hurting business, but also to set an example for other companies looking for cost-effective ways to help the environment.
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Currently the company spends $24,000 on diesel fuel every month. Shank believes the fuel produced from his Jatropha crop will cost the company half as much. In the current economy, that money means a lot for the business.
Shank’s business previously employed up to 75 people, but the economy has forced layoffs, diminishing the workforce to a mere 40 employees. With the money saved by growing his own fuel, Shank says he will hire more workers.
Shank said he chose Jatropha because the desert-native plant can yield up to 10 times as much energy as corn and requires much less water to grow. One acre of Jatropha can produce over 1000 gallons of biofuel a year.
As of now, Clermont Scapes does not have the ability to process the Jatropha seeds, which are around 40% oil, to fuel on their own. Instead, Shank plans to hire a nearby grease-to-fuel facility to do the job.
Photo Credit: Challiyan on Flickr under Creative Commons license.
Great article! I hope you can follow up in a few years. Many people would like to see the actual yield he receives in Florida.
He can also extract the oil very inexpensively himself and not have to transport the bio-diesel back to his facility.
Cool article. I think that jatropha will be very good for not only people in developed but underdeveloped countries as well.
He could have accomplished teh same thing using the waste biomass and grass clippings collected from his customers.
This is the smartest example of good business. I just hope that more companies are allowed to do this.
The Jatropha tree in the photo “cannot” produce the amount of seeds that is calimed. Additionally, the tree in the photo is not Jatropha curcas.
Please get this right before people get hurt by planting the wrong trees.
Regards,
Peter
peter-linking@auswww.com
This may not be as great an idea as it sounds. Jatropha is a non-native species and could very easily escape and become invasive. Florida already has its share of “beneficial” plants accidentally introduced to it.
Bob,
How would he get bio-diesel from grass clippings?
Peter,
Do you really think anyone wanting to go this route would be so ignorant as to not get the right plant?
Driven98,
It’s a little too late to worry about “non-native” plants in Florida. The stae is rifwe with them. Besides, being a “desert native”" plant it doesn’t grow rapidly enough to get out of control, like cudzu in Louisianna.
Nay-sayers aside, this businessman’s head and heart are in the right place.
His head is in the right place because his choice is both environmentally friendly and fiscally responsible.
His heart is in the right place in stating that one of his goals is to hire more people.
I can identify with him, somewhat. I say somewhat only because my business plan(s) are just that, right now…plans. As soon as I secure funding (within the next 6 to 8 months) I will be starting an ethanol (or “celluline”) powered crate engine business, as well as purchasing around 50 acres to grow Jerusalem artichokes and switchgrass on.
I plan on using enough of my crop to distill my own fuel and sell the rest of the crop to an ethanol plant that is in the planning stages, here in North Texas.
Nay-sayers, feel free to critique my plans. I welcome constructive, intelligent comments.
on what density did he plant his acreage or how many plants per acre does he have