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Neste, Twin Rivers Unified School Districts transforms school buses from fossil fuel to fossil free

By using Neste MY Renewable Diesel, Twin Rivers will immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a healthier environment for children.

Neste

2021-01-16T00:00+02:00

By using Neste MY Renewable Diesel, Twin Rivers will immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a healthier environment for children.

The Twin Rivers Unified School District near Sacramento achieved a major milestone in its climate action plan by switching 75 diesel-powered school buses to run on renewable diesel fuel provided by Neste. As a result, the district’s fleet is now fully fossil free and one of the cleanest in the country. Because Neste MY Renewable Diesel is a drop-in fuel, Twin Rivers was able to achieve this remarkable milestone practically overnight.

“Yesterday, our fleet of diesel-powered school buses were contributing to air pollution and climate change. Now, they are helping fight these two big problems. All it took for us to start creating a healthier, more sustainable future for the children and communities served by Twin Rivers was to switch from fossil to renewable diesel – probably one of the easiest decisions we’ve ever had to make.“

Timothy Shannon, Twin Rivers USD director of transportation

Twin Rivers USD, the 28th largest school district in California with 26,000 students, has been on a journey to  “green” its school bus fleet. Last year, the school district started using electric buses. Now, by simply changing fuel types, Twin Rivers will realize an 80% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from its remaining fleet of diesel-powered buses (US lifecycle emissions calculation).

Neste, its distributor Van De Pol Petroleum and Twin Rivers established a long-term contract to fuel all of the diesel-powered school buses with Neste MY Renewable Diesel. Importantly, switching to renewable diesel did not cost the school district – or tax payers – anything extra. Alongside the environmental benefits, Twin Rivers can also expect to see superior performance and reduced maintenance costs. 

“Renewable diesel can not only accelerate the phase out of fossil fuels, it also enables us to create a circular economy. Going forward, it would be great for Neste and Twin Rivers to take our partnership to the next level by using the school district’s waste to produce the renewable diesel for its busses.“

Carrie Song, Neste’s Vice President of Renewable Road Transport Americas