The famous Staten Island Ferry and other NYC harbor vessels are being shifted to run on renewable diesel soon.
New York’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) has awarded its first tender to buy renewable diesel for ferries. DCAS is basing its tender, for barge delivery, on the New York Harbor R99 (a trade name for renewable diesel) price published by global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus.
"We have already moved all our heavy-duty and off-road vehicles to renewable diesel, making us the first major East Coast city to adopt green technology on such a large scale,” DCAS Deputy Commissioner and NYC Chief Fleet Officer Keith Kerman said in a statement. “As announced by the city in October 2024, step two is to move NYC's ferries and vessels to this more environmentally friendly fuel. DCAS contracts with Argus for fuel market information and Argus has now provided us with a new resource to compare renewable with conventional fuel pricing in our contracts."
Renewable diesel is produced by hydrotreating and/or gasifying fats and vegetable oils, among other resources. It has the same fuel characteristics as petroleum diesel, so it can be blended while also reducing carbon intensity by 65%, on average, according to reports.
Renewable diesel production in the U.S. has grown five-fold in the past seven years to more than 2.5 billion gallons per year. Phillips 66 shifted one of its refineries in California to produce renewable diesel, while other energy firms working on supply deals include ExxonMobil, Neste, bp North American, Marathon Petroleum, Sinclair and Kinder Morgan.
In New York, DCAS, the NYC Department of Transportation, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection and NYC Parks have started testing the use of renewable diesel in vessels. The barge contract will enable the transition to long-term and large-scale renewable diesel use for city vessels.
The Staten Island ferry is a free-fare service route connecting Manhattan to Staten Island. The ferry service started in 1817 and still operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
