SEATTLE -- Biodiesel is flowing from pumps at a Safeway Inc. gas station Seattle, the first step in a test-marketing campaign that could spread the alternative fuel to more of the company's stores, said the Associated Press.
At a grand-opening ceremony last week, Mayor Greg Nickels pumped about five gallons of the fuel ($15.36) into a biodiesel-burning Volkswagen Golf. Nickels, who has made global warming a signature issue, said broader use of alternative fuels could help reduce the environmental effects of car exhaust. "Together, we're going to prove [image-nocss] there's a market for this," he said.
Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif., has been selling the soybean oil fuel in Seattle for about a week. Customers began filling up as soon as it was available, without prompting or an advertising campaign, officials said. The grocery store chain has about 270 U.S. gas stations, offering discounts of up to 10 cents a gallon for shoppers who have a Safeway club card.
Two more stations in the Seattle area could be the next targets for selling biodiesel.
Safeway's biodiesel is called B-20, a blend of 20% soybean oil and 80% conventional diesel fuel. The distributor is Tacoma-based SC Fuels, which gets its soybean oil from the Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group.
The fuel blend can be used in most any vehicles with diesel engines with no special modifications needed, officials said.
Cherie Myers, a regional Safeway spokesperson, said the company saw the environmentally conscious Northwest as a good place to test biodiesel's commercial viability. "This was our first step. Now we're going to see how the consumer will respond to this," she told AP.
Safeway's move into selling alternative fuels could have a significant effect on the market if the program expands to more stations, SC Fuels vice president Vince McBroom said. "The demand is out there," he told AP. "But it's not widely available in a lot of areas."
Meanwhile, in other company news, Safeway has appointed former Hot Stuff Foods chairman, CEO and president Des Hague as president and general manager of perishables. He succeeds Rojon Hasker, who will now dedicate herself exclusively to her role as president and general manager of lifestyle. Hague will oversee the company's perishable operations including produce, floral, meat, seafood, foodservice and bakery.
Prior to Hot Stuff, he spent two years as vice president of fresh food merchandising at 7-Eleven in Dallas, where he was responsible for the chain's foodservice program across more than 25,000 locations. He spent several years at Maytag's Commercial Business Unit in Dallas as vice president of strategic marketing. Before that, he held a range of marketing and management positions in the Pepsico and Whitebread organizations in the U.K. and Europe.
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