Local Food / Local Fuel : Piedmont Biodiesels Story

I'd like to post more success stories like this.....

Local Foods/Local Fuel
Pittsboro, NC-- October 18, 2005-- Eastern Carolina Organics (ECO), a distributor of locally-grown organic produce, announced today that it was switching its fleet to biodiesel fuel.


ECO is a farmer-owned business that focuses on delivering local harvests to grocery stores and fine dining establishments throughout the area. Their slogan is "Your local farm to table connection."


"Biodiesel is made in America," said Sandi Kronick, ECO's founder. "It comes from the farm, like the rest of our products. We want to do everything we can to promote sustainability for the American farmer."


The fuel for ECO's switch over will be provided by Piedmont Biofuels, also of Pittsboro.


"Biodiesel is a clean burning, renewable fuel that can improve both our air quality and our local economy," said Lyle Estill, of Piedmont Biofuels. "We are delighted to welcome Eastern Carolina Organics to our growing list of biodiesel users."


"Piedmont Biofuels is a natural match for ECO's operations," said Kronick. "ECO works to promote regional food security through utilizing local family farmers to meet Americans' demand for high quality, nutritious produce while Piedmont Biofuels is doing the very same thing to power our regional transportation needs. Together, we are building the infrastructure to support our thriving urban regions by protecting the rural nature of our beautiful state."


ECO leases from Salem National Leasing, a truck leasing firm that is familiar with biodiesel and pleased to see it incorporated into ECO's operations.


The tank where ECO will fill up is in Pittsboro, and is a twelve volt, off-grid system that is powered by solar energy. It is one location on the B100 Community Trail that winds its way across the Triangle, from Moncure to Pittsboro, to Carrboro, to Durham to Hillsborough.


"We are seeing an increasing number of fleets and enterprises like ECO joining the B100 Community," said Estill, "Everyone from green design-build operations like BuildSense in Durham to federal agencies like the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in RTP have signed up in the past month or so."


Evan Ashworth, a member of Piedmont Biofuels who keeps the trail supplied with fuel said, "Every gallon of biodiesel used by organizations like ECO represents a gallon of fuel that we do not have to import from OPEC. This is where American energy security and independence begins."






Contact:


Sandi Kronick Eastern Carolina Organics 919-824-5238

sandi@easterncarolinaorganics.com


Lyle Estill, Piedmont Biofuels 919-321-8260

lyle@biofuels.coop