Penn State is becoming green with environmental awareness.

Switching to environmentally friendly fuels has become a major goal for the university. The College of Agricultural Sciences and Office of Physical Plant (OPP) as well as Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) all have plans to or have already switched to new fuels that are better for the environment.

Farm Operations, a program in the College of Agricultural Sciences, currently uses biodiesel to fuel nearly all of its 200 trucks, tractors and other pieces of agricultural equipment, said Glen Cauffman, manager of farm operations and facilities.

He said the benefits of biodiesel are clearly observable.

"There is less smoke, a less offensive smell and it runs just as good as regular diesel. Also, we are happy to be less dependent on foreign oil and are happy to be using a renewable resource," he said.

Farm Operations has been using B-20 biodiesel, which is 20 percent vegetable oil, for two years, Cauffman said and is shipped from a company in Export to the university.

However, that could change in the next few months. Penn State's biodiesel team in the department of chemical engineering is competing for a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency that would allow them to construct a large-scale system to create biodiesel. The team would be able to supply Farm Operations with enough fuel to run all of the equipment, Cauffman said.

Biodiesel is currently slightly more expensive than regular diesel, but Cauffman said he considers it an investment in the future of Penn State. If the biodiesel team receives the grant, the price of the fuel would be lower because the oil used to make the biodiesel would actually be leftover-cooking oil found on campus.

Besides biodiesel, Penn State is changing to accommodate other alternative fuels.

A hydrogen fueling station has been installed on campus and is scheduled to open next month, said Joel Anstrom, research associate of mechanical engineering. It will supply the university with hydrogen fuel and a mixed hydrogen and compressed natural gas blend.

The fueling station currently has to have liquid hydrogen shipped in. However, the station will have a reformer installed during the fall, which will convert natural gas into hydrogen, said Anstrom, who works at the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute (PTI). The reformer installation was delayed due to funding issues.

Currently, there is one OPP van in operation that uses the natural gas and hydrogen blend, with more conversions in the planning stage, OPP spokesman Paul Ruskin said.

"Three vans are scheduled for conversion," he said.

OPP will be monitoring the efficiency of the converted vehicles over an extended period of time and have high expectations, though they are not sure if the vans will be cost-effective, Ruskin added.

"Besides the OPP vans, CATA is also planning on converting one of the Loop buses to use the hydrogen and natural gas blend," Anstrom said.

CATA originally switched to compressed natural gas, which it currently uses, in 1994.

It takes 60 days to convert the bus, he said. "The bus should be up and running the same time the reformer comes on line."

The CATA bus will be clearly labeled so students will know they are riding in a vehicle powered by a green fuel.

To continue the research and demonstration on the viability of hydrogen, PTI received a $302,000 grant from the Department of Environmental Protection, Anstrom said.

The Penn State has made energy and its alternative forms a strategic focus in the upcoming years, he said.

"The U.S. uses $200,000 a minute in gasoline," Ruskin said. "And OPP is happy to be part of developing a hydrogen economy."