1. Do we have a quorum (a minimum of 7 Board members), to have a Board
of Directors meeting, or will this be an informal meeting of the Coop
members?

6 members in attendance.
2. Should the Coop terminate its relationship with SF Petroleum, in
view of the recent incidents of damage to cars by their fuel? How?
Vote of the Board? Of members?
Eric Smith and Marty Malera both needed fuel pump replacements at the tune of $2,400 each. High cloud point from tallow sourced fuel is likely the culprit of the issues. Normal cloud point for 100% recycled content is usually 40 degrees. SFPC fuel was recently reported at 52 degrees. Note to members make sure a blend is used for temperatures under 40 degrees.

Message was sent out claiming no liability.

What to do? Board to make consenus decision then post again the email describing the issues and proceed to cancelling all cards with SFPC.

Canceling Daramah? Continuing to use the service? Cost is $10 month for the Co-op.

Option to donate $100 deposit to Co-op for future fueling location.

3. Any change to the status of the funding for the “permanent” Rainbow facility?
Meeting with rainbow board Monday 19th to finalize. Carbon fund is still an item of contention. Rainbow will need individual funding.

4. Status of People’s Fuel fueling service at Rainbow. How long can
they continue the service and under what conditions (e.g., with Coop
volunteers)?

Hold up is money. Need for angel investment. Option to have the fleet card reimbursment donated Green Depot for the use at Rainbow Grocerey.

5. Late status on Dogpatch? Other fueling sites?

Dogpatch:  Preparing for inspections and close to an opening date.  Week-end after Thanksgiving is looking possible, and there should be treats/incentives of some sort there.  Keep an eye out.  To find out the official opening date, keep an eye on our Yahoo group email or go to http://www.dogpatchbiofuels.com to sign up for their email list.  A great way to help them out would be to let businesses w/biodiesel cars/fleets about them.

6. Other issues?

Getting involved at NBB, possibly a gathering to be organized at Thisrsty Bear monday night.

7. December (10th?) meeting again at same place, Neighborhood Parks
Council at 451 Hayes Street?

David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

(11-11) 18:31 PST — The Bay Area’s latest motor fuel factory looks like a microbrewery run by Ph.D.s.

Men in white lab coats tend gleaming metal vats filled with yeast and sugar. The air inside the converted Emeryville warehouse smells vaguely like hops.

But the factory, built by Amyris Biotechnologies, doesn’t make beer, at least not most of the time. Instead, the vats and the yeast churn out a clear liquid that mimics diesel fuel. Blend it with some regular diesel, stick it in an engine, and it works.

“It performs just like the diesel you’d get from dinosaur juice,” said Amyris co-founder Jack Newman, referring to fossil fuels.

…more

San Francisco Biofuels Cooperative

Noter on Board of Directors and General Membership Meeting

October 8, 2008, 7:00 PM

1. Lacking a quorum (a minimum of 7 Board members), the meeting was one of Coop members, only.

2. The treasury is stable at $10,012.  There may be activity soon, as SF Petroleum’s biodiesel pump is back in service. 

3. Sixty members, 2 new ones.  Difficult to recruit without static meeting place.

4. Results of the Visioning meeting (by Ching-Wei) Visioning Meeting
               - Great turnout, ran out of time.

            - Long term goal is not to be in the fueling business.

            - We can’t really support that many stations.

            - Did not pose question of merging with Green Depot at meeting.

            - Consensus: focus on demand / marketing of sustainable biodiesel.

            - Emphasis on education - sustainable vs unsustainable - combat negative information.

            - Focus on existing access opportunities - support them as much as we can

5. The Coop as part of Green Depot will be a later discussion.  Eric S.: When SFBC is folded into Green Depot, want to make clean break from SF Petroleum fleet cards etc. We will wait for other access points to come online, then make the break, and join Green Depot.  Wayne on process:  Need membership decision to merge with Green Depot. Green Depot will have a similar agreement to merge SFBC, accept assets etc.

6. SF Petroleum not testing their fuel.  City no longer buying from SFP.  Quality cannot be trusted.  Advise members to use SFP fuel with caution.

7. Status of the “permanent” Rainbow facility: Membership approved on Sept 15th for installation of fixed pump in back lot.  Wes working with them and Carbon Fund to fund project but Carbon Fund doesn’t want to fund it. (nor other B100 pump projects).  Carbon Fund seems to want to assign carbon footprint to each producer based on details of production. Open issues.-
   Current access and anticipated future access to biodiesel.  Meanwhile, People’s Fuel needs more support for Rainbow fueling with more volunteers/more hours. Current fueling situation is not sustainable for much longer.

8. Other sources:  Bio Task Force - Eric B - wrote letter of commendation to Dogpatch.  Their tank installation to start this month.  Biofuel Oasis:  New location opening soon.  Debating whether to keep Dwight location for storage - inventory of B100.

9. NBB:  Huge media push for NBB Conference in Feb 09 at Moscone.  Asked Eric S. to moderate panel at conference.  Talked to Gavin Newsom about Biodiesel mandate (Start with B5, go to B20).  Working with Wade Crowfoot to set things up.  Most incoming Supervisors are supportive of Biodiesel.  Would like to announce mandate in time for NBB conference.

10. Website:  Wesley making progress with new software tools.
11. Date of the next meeting – November 12 - same place, Neighborhood Parks Council at
    451 Hayes Street.  Please ring the middle bell at the front door for entry.  If problems getting in,  call Jan Chernoff on his cell phone.

SFBC Visioning meeting Sept. 10^th, 2008

Roll Call:

Eric Bowen, Matt Trocker, Jolie, Eric Smith, Celia, Kerri Ving, Chein Wei, Shannon, Jan, Christa, Robin and Michele, Bill C., Cloie,

Accomplishments in last year:

1. Dog Patch Biofuels
2. SFBC fleet cards
3. Sydney’s database
4. Green depot/ SFBC
5. Rainbow fueling
6. Shifted view for alternative fuels in SF non of it possible without SFBC
7. Biodiesel at the Railyard

Evolution of the SFBC

1. Incredible Adventures
2. SFPC – fleet cards, now no pump
3. Rainbow Grocery – mobile fueling

Access

1. Feedstock development – SF Greasecycle, Darling to build a plant soon,
2. Friday at 1:30 press conference to introduce Darling to the Biodiesel scene
3. Distribution – Doggpatch to open soon will not be 24/7 but willing to if helped with $, Rainbow to decide on permanent pump soon. Mobile fueling is ongoing.
4. Access moving beyond SFBC – to promoting sustainable access
5. Prospects: Presidio,
6. Doggpatch PFC combined efforts
7. 24/7 access – depends on number of access points, # of diesels, price of fuel,
8. Making money off of offering a customer base, pursue all paths, more options the easier access will be. Assembly Bill118? Moving with the times as we have since the start.
9.  Fat Free Carfuels – October 4^th fundraiser, $20, VIP for SFBC, 2 high speed and 2 low speed, double drive way, 30×130 prefab shed, 40,000 gallons month est. looking for fastest fueling path, currently not funded,
10.  Concern that ther will be too many retail location and not enough fuel or fuelers to make it successful, use the SFBC as a voice
11.  24/7 access points, multiple locations, more biodiesel users
12.  6 – 8 months out look, biodiesel transfer station at SF Port, trucks use more biodiesel than anything else, mandates,
13.  How many niche fuelers can SFBC support.
14.  Idea of using deposit money to help fund access
15.  Focus on existing opportunities, existing efforts, PFC, Rainbow, Doggpatch,
16.  Creating a voice for sustainability, marketing campaign, 
17.  Online survey, zip code maps, access points, using data from green depot research,

Education

Overview  - used to table events, provide info to individual users not necessarily fleets.

1. Now need to educate fleets
2. Food verses fuel update to be put on web
3. Set forth principles of sustainability with examples of producers,
4. Warranty information updates, success stories,
5. Review Biodiesel 101, how is suitable for different users, different levels of education
6. Find an education coordinator

Advocacy

Overview – government work , Mayors notice of B20, biodiesel mandate, biodiesel access task force, CA biodiesel alliance,

1. What is our view on AB32, and reducing our footprint,
2. Use web ranking
3. Green Depot – health aspects of using cleaner fuels big plus hand in hand with GHG,
4. Help improve myths of material compatibility questions and issues,
5. Department of Measurements and standards,
6. Use data and stats to inprove regulation
7. Use web site as a blog platform,
8. NBB conference representation –
9. Randell Von Wedel – charged with getting visuals for conference – October 6^th and 7^th stay in contact with Randell as he is contact with NBB
10.  Have a great story to tell create a press kit for SFBC
11.  Green Living show channel 20 to air info on railyard,
12.  Does Biodiesel Access Task force push a B5 mandate, preference to sustainable
13.  Using the mayors platform
14.  

Sustainability

1. sustainability definitions for next meeting

Messaging:

1. potential of biodiesel
2. How do we inspire others along with GHG, use the co-op to reconnect the ground floor to the policy makers
3. Research funding and local biodfuels, regular processing
4. Crystallize the message into

Suggestions vs. action item list

Next meeting possibly at new Office

Agenda Items:

1. Update on Prices: Prices are listed on the website. People’s Fuel working on a document to explain pricing - going up to website soon - to explain taxes, cost of doing business, etc. Biodiesel is a premium fuel so will command a premium price and will likely be more expensive then petro - and there is no oversight of all points in the supply chain to prevent excessive profit taking, so we need to watch that ourselves. Jan also notes that the price differential is only around 10%. Also, there will not be enough local waste oil to support the local demand. Tom wonders whether it would be a good idea to educate people how to grow and make their own fuel.

2. Petro Diesel Prices: Wayne distributed a summary of some research he did (Diesel Fuel Price Research) on the petro diesel prices. He concludes that this is not a transient price bubble but a long term trend. In any given barrel of oil, only a small percentage becomes diesel, so the quantity is limited. Jan notes that diesel use levels are less elastic as the users are mostly industry rather than individual consumers who have more flexibility in their level of driving.

3. Treasurer/Admin Report: Wesley, who also works for People’s Fuel, is taking over as a central admin for dealing with fleet cards. Jolie is still keeping books but has not been receiving info on income/expenditures. We have paid SFP thru May but have not billed members for May. We still have some people out there who have Fleet Cards but have not signed up and/or paid dues. Wesley will be taking this on. Jolie notes that we need to calculate whether our underpayment to SFP is offsetting our CC fees.

4. Discussion of possible consolidation w/Green Depot: Eric gave a brief summary of the Co-Op’s history and lack of non-profit status. Now that we are not involved in selling fuel but rather facilitating biodiesel, we may now qualify for non-profit status. Green Depot is a non-profit oriented toward biodiesel education and facilitation. Folding in with them would minimize administrative work and enable us to take donations. This would entail dissolving the co-op as a corporate entity. Wayne would help to administratively make the transition. Jolie suggested that our $800/year tax bill could be used to pay someone to facilitate the transition. We are not at the voting stage yet, but there were no objections.

5. Rainbow - Membership will be voting on whether to have a 100 gallon tank at rainbow to provide a permanent facility. If we get it, SF Carbon Fund would perhaps buy the facility. Fueling would then be available during all Rainbow hours. There is also some discussion about locating something in the Presidio, possibly on the side of Sport’s Basement. People’s Fuel is offering a sweat equity deal if any member comes to help at a given shift, they would be able to fuel on that day for a 50% discount. This means re-starting our sweat equity program. Jan will get the word out and get that re-started.

6. New Members - 65 known paying members, but we have many new members from Rainbow fueling that haven’t been entered into the system.

7. New Issues - Roy O is planning to open a fueling station in SF and will be talking with People’s Fuel to get help on the process. He spoke at length about his vision of a multifaceted location involving gardens, community, art, etc.

8. Visioning Meeting - we will discuss this when Ching Wei returns.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Mayor Gavin Newsom today announced the receipt of
a $1 million California Energy Commission (CEC) grant to the San
Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to build the City’s
first pilot grease-to-biodiesel production facility.

The facility will be sited at the SFPUC’s Oceanside Sewage Treatment
Plant, and is considered unique because it will attempt to create
three grades of biodiesel from “brown grease”, which are pan scrapings
and washed oil residue trapped in grease traps/interceptors under a
restaurant sink. There are more than 2.5 million gallons of brown
grease in the city, compared with 1.5 million gallons of “yellow
grease” like fryer oil. Biodiesel from grease is easily created using
the cleaner yellow grease, while brown grease is typically discarded
at sewage treatment plants.

“Our program to turn waste cooking oil and yellow grease into
biodiesel has been an enormous success, but San Francisco must
continue to raise the bar when it comes to reducing our greenhouse gas
emissions and exploring alternative energies,” said Mayor Newsom.
“With this grant, our unique brown-grease-

to-biodiesel plant will
break new ground for sustainable fuel production in California and
serve as a model for the entire state.”

Brown grease can be refined and created into three “grades” of biodiesel:

High-grade American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) certified
biodiesel for vehicles; Lower grade biofuel source for running sewage
treatment plant diesel plant turbines and pumps; and Rich energy for
cogeneration – the process of capturing methane gas at the sewage
plant and converting that to heating/electrical needs.

The CEC is looking closely at this and similar projects to help cover
California’s anticipated one billion gallon shortfall of biodiesel by
2022. The shortfall is anticipated even with a growing number of
yellow grease recycling programs like the SFGreasecycle, which the
City launched in November 2007 to collect yellow grease from
restaurants to fuel City vehicles, buses and fire trucks. The SFPUC,
which manages the SFGreasecycle program, will also manage the brown
grease pilot project.

The construction of the brown grease biodiesel facility should be
complete in December 2008.

“Sewage treatment plants account for 3% of the nation’s electrical
consumption because they run 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said
SFPUC General Manager Ed Harrington, “This brown-grease to biodiesel
project is a win-win for our ratepayers and the environment. We’ll
keep more grease out of the sewers AND reduce our reliance on outside
energy sources for our treatment plants.”

http://dieselhq.net/
I saw his new show room and he has lots of 1 or 2 year diesel cars. Fairly new diesels cars have almost no problems at all. Sorry , he doesn’t sell old diesels.
The owner is open to become a guest speaker at the next SF Biofuels meeting. He can not only can talk about diesel cars but his opinion of the high price of diesel.
He thinks China is not the big reason for the big diesel price.
–
An owner of 12 diesel buses said one of the ingrediants to make diesel went up in price, that’s the reason for the price hike. Sorry I forgot the details, anybody have more info on ingrediant, pls email me privately.

For those of you who commute down peninsula… I’m sure many of you already know… but a new biodiesel “Filling Station and Quick Mart” opened in San Mateo. It’s Autopia.

I tanked up there today at $4.74 per gallon. The B99 is certified and made from Taco Chip oil. They may make it on the premises; I forgot to ask. The pump is brand new and the site is pleasant. Austin accepts cash or credit cards.

Their website is at www.autopiabiofuels.com. Even the quickie mart has a good green slant; they’re trying to get all their snacks from a 100 mile radius. And, they’re applying for a liquor license, so you’ll be able to pick up a six pack, maybe a bottle of wine, as you fuel up to help support the business.

Looks like a good operation to support if you work south of the city.
The facility is by the Caltrain tracks a couple blocks west of
Delaware, so freeway access is easy. Check them out.

WHAT:   Rainforest depletion to fuel our cars? That’s
not right! But there is a better way—by using recycled fuel, creating local economies, and simply driving less. This evening will be entertaining, educational, and a great way to meet like-minded people who have hope we can overcome our petroleum-dependent ways.
Despite the backlash against biofuel, the BFO is showing us a sustainable way!

Films include:
•       “Fat of the Land”—a 1995 documentary about four
pioneering women traveling around the country transforming fuel from fryer grease. Set back in the day when no one heard about biodiesel, they are encountered with disbelief and awe.
•       “Freedom Fuels” (excerpts)—an award winning
documentary about the current state of biodiesel
•       “Revolution Green” (excerpts) about the state of
sustainable biodiesel in America today
•       Other shorts and newsclips
With presentations about big biodiesel’s impact on Borneo and Argentina.
And…live puppetry with the Big Tadoo Puppet Crew, an Ask a Mechanic booth, special, limited edition t-shirt silk screening assembly line, and homemade popcorn.

WHEN:   Wednesday, April 30th
7 – 10 p.m.

WHERE:  La Pena Cultural Center,
3105 Shattuck Ave.
Berkeley
510-849-2589

COST:  $10-20 entry (no one turned away for lack of
funds)
All proceeds go toward building the most sustainable station in the nation, the Biofuel Oasis’s new location at Ashby and Sacramento.

Contact:Novella Carpenter
510.847.7141 mobile
Biofuel Oasis Cooperative