Willie Nelson Goes Green with "BioWillie," His Eco-Friendly Fuel

Willie Nelson, 72, has never been what one would call a traditional kind of celebrity, and his latest business venture isn’t a traditional one either. The country crooner last week introduced California to "BioWillie," his new brand of fuel made from soybeans. Nelson himself was the first to fill up at the alternative fuel station in San Diego where his fuel is being sold from gas pumps featuring a colorful image of Nelson strumming his guitar.

Three years ago Nelson’s wife Annie bought a car in Hawaii, where the couple has a home. The car ran on biodiesel fuel made from grease collected from restaurants. Nelson became intrigued with the idea, and began filling his tour buses with biodiesel. Peter Bell, a biodiesel supplier, convinced Nelson to go into business marketing his own brand of the fuel, so that his name and image would help the public accept and embrace the idea of using biodiesel.

The use of biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine results in substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. Since growing soybeans consumes nearly four times as much carbon dioxide as the amount of carbon dioxide produced from biodiesel exhaust, the use of this clean-burning fuel actually reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, biodiesel is the nation’s fastest growing alternative fuel. Sales of biodiesel in America tripled last year to 75 million gallons. But Jenna Higgins, a spokeswoman for the National Biodiesel Board, said that those sales accounted for less than 1% of the diesel fuel sold nationwide.

The BioWillie brand of biodiesel being marketed by Willie Nelson is a blend of 80% petroleum diesel and 20% biodiesel, and is made from soybean oil. It is currently being sold in California, Texas, South Carolina, and Georgia, and the company hopes to expand production and sales to other areas. "It is the future," Nelson said. "Through biodiesel, we can reduce dependency on foreign oil and adopt an energy source that's clean renewable and helps family farmers find new uses for their products."