Written on: November 6, 2023
When Bob Brown and his wife, Angela, started Broco Energy in 2007, they were committed to being different: they wanted to be an energy company that would provide lower carbon fuel solutions in the New England area. They knew that heating oil was a reliable home heating source. But they wanted it to be better. And their customers did, too.
“A lot of people in this region really support renewable fuels and they want to use a lower carbon fuel, but they don’t want to go through the extra expense of upgrading their equipment to accommodate it,” Bob Brown says. “We needed to find the right partner to roll out a blending process that would work for all of us. We already knew Bioheat® fuel represented the best solution for a lower carbon fuel.”
That’s when Broco Energy started looking for potential partners with good reputations in the industry. Their search led to Chevron Renewable Energy Group, a top biodiesel producer in both the U.S. and abroad.
In 2017, Broco Energy purchased a rail terminal in Massachusetts and two years later, as part of their newly formed partnership with the Chevron Renewable Energy Group, opened the first biodiesel terminal in New England.
“Chevron Renewable Energy Group’s biodiesel is by far the most superior I’ve ever seen,” Brown says. “Their distillation process is the best out there. It allows us to show that we’re selling a premium-branded biodiesel. Because not all biodiesel is created equally.”
Like petroleum diesel, biodiesel is used to fuel compression-ignition engines. Biodiesel is manufactured domestically from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant cooking oil. Read more about biodiesel.
Broco Energy is so committed to doing its part in the industry-wide initiative to reach lower carbon emission targets by 2050 that the company switched 10 of their trucks to run strictly on biodiesel, utilizing Optimus Technologies Vector System.
Brown says his mechanics report better fuel mileage and the drivers observe that the trucks have less regeneration cycles as a result.
“It just smells cleaner too,” says John Pearson, a Broco Energy driver. “I’ve seen other biodiesel products and Chevron Renewable Energy Group’s is just a high-quality product. You can literally see through it. Others are just inferior.”
Brown says he plans to implement biodiesel into the full fleet as well, because it’s important that Broco Energy leads by example.
“We can’t be selling a product and not use it ourselves,” he says. “We are embracing this.”
When Broco Energy first introduced Bioheat® fuel–– a blend of low-sulfur heating oil and renewable biodiesel–– residential customers were concerned mostly about two things: the quality of the product and whether their heating system would require expensive modifications or upgrades. A little education – and helpful service technicians who assured customers that their systems were actually better off using Bioheat® fuel – made for a seamless transition.
“Our techs who work on the oil burners really appreciate the fuel because it’s a lower carbon burn and leaves the heat exchangers almost carbon-free,” Brown says. “When you have an existing oil burner that can now burn a biodiesel blend at absolutely zero cost to the customer for a retrofit, that’s a win-win. They’re getting more life out of their systems just by using cleaner fuel, they’re saving money and they’re doing their part by embracing renewable fuels.”
With a solid partnership in place with Chevron Renewable Energy Group, Brown says he now looks forward to new legislation that will help incentivize companies to use biodiesel so it becomes standard nationwide.
A local fire captain and U.S. Navy Seabee veteran, Brown says he also appreciates that Chevron Renewable Energy Group offers a superior home-grown product that’s truly scalable to reduce carbon emissions.
At Broco Energy, we take pride in giving back to people who serve the community. We always want to thank those individuals for their dedication, and we proudly offer ongoing discounts to veterans, firefighters, police officers, senior citizens, municipal workers, emergency medical-service workers (EMS) and teachers.
Contact us today and become a customer.
