SAN DIEGO (AP) - Country singer Willie Nelson introduced BioWillie, his brand of clean-burning fuel made from soybeans, to California on Wednesday.
BioWillie went on sale at an alternative fuel station in San Diego, where the 72-year-old singer drew a crowd as he filled his tour bus from a pump emblazoned with a picture of himself strumming a guitar. "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."
Actress Daryl Hannah, who drives a biodiesel-powered black Chevrolet El Camino, joined the singer at Pearson Ford Fuel Depot, where drivers can also fill up on propane, ethanol and natural gas.
Biodiesel is the fastest growing alternative fuel in the United States, the U.S. Department of Energy said. U.S. sales of biodiesel tripled last year to 284 million litres but account for less than one per cent of diesel fuel sold, said Jenna Higgins, a spokeswoman for the National Biodiesel Board, which is hosting a conference on biodiesel in San Diego.
More than 600 filling stations in the United States sell biodiesel to the public.
Nelson first learned about biodiesel three years ago when his wife, Annie, purchased a biodiesel-burning car in Hawaii, where the star has a home. The biodiesel that powered her Volkswagen Jetta was made from grease collected from restaurants. He bought a diesel Mercedes and then began filling his tour buses with biodiesel.
After filling up the singer's bus in Dallas in December 2004, biodiesel supplier Peter Bell persuaded Nelson to go into business and lend his name and image to help the little-known fuel gain wider acceptance. But Bell said he has been surprised to see the singer devoting much of his time to the cause.
"He shows up at a gas station," Bell said, glancing at the crowd surrounding the singer.
"He believes in it 100 per cent."
The BioWillie brand, known as B20 is a blend of 80 per cent petroleum diesel and 20 per cent biodiesel, made from soybean oil, which Nelson stressed was produced by U.S. farmers. Nelson organized Farm Aid charity concerts two decades ago to draw attention to the plight of the U.S. family farm.
In addition to California, BioWillie is now sold in Texas, South Carolina and Georgia and distributed through Oklahoma City-based Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores. The partnership Nelson formed with Bell and three others, Biodiesel Venture GP, LLC, was acquired in November by Texas-based Earth Biofuels.