MADISON (WKOW) -- The repairs on diesel vehicles at Prairie Fire Biofuels Co-op in Madison are still going strong.
The pumps of biodiesel nearby, however, have turned quiet.
"It's really low, people just want to buy petroleum diesel," said co-op board member Kurt Reinhold.
Blame it on today's relatively low oil prices. A gallon of biodiesel at the co-op on East Washington Avenue rings up at $4.03 a gallon for members. The traditional oil-based diesel is considerably lower right now, about two dollars off its summertime high.
"It just depends on the price of diesel, but there's a sweetspot, usually between $3 and $4.50 per gallon that seems to be ideal for our consumers to come in and fill up," he said. Reinhold said when because of nuances with the inputs of making biodiesel, his product is more competitive with petroleum diesel when prices are between today's low and last summer's high.
It's not just biodiesel. These plummeting oil and gas prices are affecting a number of alternative energies. On Tuesday, gas in the Madison area hung around $1.869 per gallon of regular.
"It's a big challenge right now," said environmental consultant Brett Hulsey.
Hulsey is currently working on a project to turn switchgrass to fuel, but it's hit a roadblock called cheap gas.
"We can't make money at less than about $3, $2.50 a gallon gas," said Hulsey. "So it's put a lot of advanced biofuel projects on hold."
Even current technologies like high-priced hybrids take longer to pay back through fuel savings with gas prices this low.
Biking to work no longer saves you as much gas money as it would have back in the summer.
Back at the co-op, Reinhold said some people will still go for the more expensive options, just not as many.
"The sentiment is a couple of things," he said. "Environmentally, but also wanting to keep more of our Wisconsin dollars in the state of Wisconsin."
Fortunately for the co-op, demand for biodiesel is low in the winter since it gums up in frigid temperatures. Drivers can only use a 20-percent blend of biodiesel as it is.
If spring comes, however, and oil prices stay low, the push to quickly find alternative fuels could hit empty for a while.
"I guess we'll have to wait and see," said Reinhold.
Because of declining auto sales, Toyota announced on Tuesday it would stop production at all its Japanese plants for 11 days. That includes a stoppage in production of its Prius hybrid vehicle.
Meanwhile, General Motors said in public statements recently that the economy will not stop it from developing its plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt, slated for showrooms in late 2010.
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