Case Studies:
Dog River Alternative Fuels, LLC
John Hurley
Dog River Alternative Fuels, LLC
Berlin, Vermont
John Hurley runs his sawmill on fourteen hundred acres of forestland in the foothills above Dog River in Washington County. In 1998 (25 years after beginning his operation), John began experiencing negative health effects from breathing diesel fumes in his sawmill, and was impelled to find fuel alternatives. He turned his attention to biodiesel, bought the book From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank by Josh Tickell, and proceeded to learn everything possible about making biodiesel from waste vegetable oil (WVO). Soon after reading the book, John attended a conference (Building an Ecological Economy Conference) where a challenge grant, seemingly tailor-made to this pursuit, was available. He won the grant and began producing biodiesel.
Through alliances formed with others involved in small-scale biodiesel production, he officially launched Dog River Alternative Fuels in 2001. He joined forces with Paul Butler (biodiesel producer), and Josh Cabell, a UVM student working on his senior paper about biodiesel-run busses. Subsequently, UVM agreed to purchase Vermont made biodiesel and contracted with Dog River to supply it.
Starting with small production in 5-gallon pails, Dog River gradually worked its way up to 55-gallon drums. John was extremely diligent about the company's compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements. He obtained a fuel dealers' permit in order to sell the product, which made him the first licensed commercial supplier of biodiesel in Vermont. As the business grew, the number of challenges it had to contend with increased. To keep moving ahead it would be necessary to find a steady supply of WVO, conduct surveys and experiments to determine feasibility, and piece together investments. There were also costly modifications required in the production area, where a minimum temperature of fifty degrees must be maintained to prevent gelling during Vermont's cold months.
John reached a modest production level of seventeen hundred gallons in 2003, and by that time had also received funding to study end-uses for glycerin (a byproduct in biodiesel production). This led to the development of glycerin (and other "secret" ingredients) as a soil amendment, used to lower pH levels.
When he first started using biodiesel in his sawmill equipment John noticed a "sweet, waxy smell" instead of the familiar harsh diesel smell, and experienced no difference in performance. Convinced it would work, he put it in a brand new engine at the mill and reports that he's only had to change the fuel filter once in 7 years. John uses biodiesel in off-road applications and he blends his B100 with petrol diesel and kerosene in proportions adapted to seasonal temperatures.
John's initial motivation arose from personal health concerns, but of equal importance to him are issues addressing air quality and more localized fuel security. "We're totally dependent on fuel for Vermont coming from outside the state. We're an island state surrounded by a huge sea of imports. This means we're vulnerable to supply interruptions and we export all those fuel dollars out of state," says John.
John is currently making a small amount of biodiesel right now, with most of his time and energy spent developing plans for a much larger commercial operation (a bio-refinery). John is optimistic about the future and foresees a positive cash flow ahead where he won't have to rely on grants or subsidies. He's drafted a business model that he believes clearly indicates it can be done here in Vermont. Albeit on a small scale, he has already accomplished just about every aspect of the business but adds, "I'll do whatever I have to do to make this work. If it means I'll have to relinquish (some of the control) to get this business to take off, then that's what I'll do". In the short term John is working on plans for an alternative fuels retail operation, and is characteristically emphatic when he says, "They tell me I can't do that but I'm going to do it anyway. I hate the word 'can't'--throw it out of the English language."