Last Oct. 10 Maria Cantwell headlined the grand opening of Propel Biofuels' fuel station at Bernie's Automotive in Ballard, its first of 15 planned. The senator praised the $3.59 per gallon biodiesel for its renewability, minimal discharge of CO2 gas, 78 percent lower than petro-diesel fuel, and for its promise to propel vehicles inexpensively.

In that half a year, however, biodiesel has increased two dollars per gallon. Propel Biofuels just opened its first West Seattle location at a family-owned Exxon station on Southwest Barton Street at 35th Avenue Southwest. A gallon of biodiesel there fetches about $5.59, and about 40-cents more at Bernie's.

"This is the highest pricing we've seen so far for biodiesel," Said Rob Elum, president and founder of Propel Biofuels, which is not associated with Exxon. "Soybean oil prices are driven by speculation in the global commodities markets. And with the falling dollar these are uncertain times."

Like corn to ethanol, soybean to biodiesel oil sold at the new station raises questions about converting food to fuel. According to a report linked to Elum's company's blog, www.awakeatthewheel.net, India and China are creating an increased world demand for soybeans as well as corn and wheat. The failed wheat crop in Australia has also contributed to increased demand. The report suggests that, to catch up with demand, more of these products will be grown worldwide over the next decade and bio-fuel prices will soften as supplies increase.

Because a car running on either petroleum-based diesel or biodiesel goes about 40 percent further on a gallon of gas than a similar gasoline car, diesel cars pencil out about the same or slightly cheaper than gas cars, even at over five bucks a gallon. Oil changes and engine maintenance is needed less frequently, saving the driver money.

Their West Seattle station offers B99, almost completely biodiesel, and B20 for $4.82. B20 means the fuel is 20 percent biodiesel, 80 percent petro-diesel, easier on older diesel engines. The Admiral Safeway sells only B5 biodiesel for about $4.97, containing just 5 percent biodiesel.

The B20 fuel is still cheaper than standard, petro-diesel.

Elum gets his fuel for the West Seattle station by rail from soybean growers in Iowa.

"Iowa has a mature soy farming base and biodiesel was an easy, economical fit to existing facilities," Elum said. "The train is an efficient way to transport, more so than the pipeline from Alaska, or shipping from Saudi Arabia or Venezuela.

"I would love to use local feedstock of Canola oil from farms east of the Cascades."

Because of infrastructure issues and government regulations that might be two years away.

"It's one step at a time as we work toward a sustainable future," he said.

Ethan Bell and his wife own the station property, and lease its convenient store to Bell's father-in-law. Bell said he contacted Propel manager Michael Kudriavtseff over a year ago about adding a biodiesel pump, and that it has since become more practical. "They came up with a more attractive business model with less risk to the station owner," he said. "As a property owner I was interested in bringing additional attention to biodiesel by having it on our site. Biodiesel is a good idea, and I like what Propel does."

Bell pointed out that it is a false perception that station owners are getting rich off of high fuel prices. "Independent family-owned stations get squeezed by big oil companies."

He hopes to attract more of a crowd into his convenient store now that the new biodiesel pumps are in. "The way we make our money is with the convenient store, and as gas goes up fewer customers come in."

Steve Shay may be reached at steves@robinsonnews.com