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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 24, 2009

Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Reminds Schools to

Apply for $5,000 Worth of Grants

JOHNSTON, IA – The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), in November, announced the Biodiesel Backer Award, consisting of two $2,500 grants available to schools in Iowa.  Schools are encouraged to apply for the grants by June 30, 2009.  In order to be eligible for the grant, a school has to educate their community about biodiesel and incorporate biodiesel and renewable fuels into their school programming. 

IRFA created the Biodiesel Backer Toolkit to help schools in this endeavor.  The toolkit includes a variety of informational materials as well as communication tools that will assist schools in teaching their community about biodiesel.  These include fact sheets, brochures, curriculum, PowerPoint presentations and a public service announcement.  The Biodiesel Backer Toolkit can be found online at www.iowarfa.org/educators.php .  

Using biodiesel in your child’s school bus fleet can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, benefiting the environment and giving your children cleaner air to breath.  Biodiesel is a cleaner burning fuel made from natural, renewable resources such as vegetable oil and animal fats.  It is blended with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend.  Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, non-toxic and free of sulfur; which is vital to protecting our children and our environment.

Biodiesel provides many environmental benefits.  A 20% biodiesel blend reduces hydrocarbon emissions by 20%, carbon monoxide emissions by 11% and smog by up to 10%.   In 2006, emissions reductions attributed to biodiesel use were equivalent to the removal of 350,000 passenger vehicles from America’s roadways. 

Iowa is the leading producer of biodiesel with 14 plants whose annual capacity is nearly 318 million gallons of biodiesel annually from products grown in the state.  Encouraging your school to fill their buses with biodiesel is a step toward a healthier community, a cleaner environment and a more energy independent nation.

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For more information, visit the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association website at:  www.IowaRFA.org.