After a year and a half of using biodiesel, Boone Electric Cooperative says the transition has been largely seamless.
“We haven’t seen any problems with biodiesel. We’ve actually seen a little bit of cost savings. It’s been a net positive so far,” said Jim Goodnight, manager of operations for Boone Electric Cooperative. “There’s no reason for us to backtrack.”
The cooperative began using B5 — a blend of 5 percent biodiesel and 95 percent diesel — in its fleet during the summer of 2024. By spring 2025, Boone Electric continued using B5 while ramping up to B10, which contains 10 percent biodiesel and 90 percent diesel.
The biodiesel used by the cooperative is produced by Mid-America Biofuels in Mexico, Missouri, less than 50 miles from Columbia, and supplied through MFA Oil.
Goodnight said the cooperative plans to reach B10 levels earlier this spring and evaluate whether higher blends could be used during the warmer months.
Boone County also holds a unique place in the history of biodiesel in the United States. Missouri soybean farmers invested checkoff dollars to develop new uses for soybean oil and partnered with the University of Missouri on early biodiesel research. Industry partners such as MFA Oil, headquartered in Columbia, helped commercialize biodiesel across the state.
For Boone Electric, the connection between agriculture, biodiesel and electric cooperatives makes the transition a natural fit.
“The electric co-ops were born out of agriculture in 1936 so that we could get electricity to rural areas that were underserved,” Goodnight said. “That’s where we came from.”
Boone Electric serves a mix of urban and rural members, including residential and commercial customers, and some members of its board are farmers.
“We stay really close to that agricultural background,” Goodnight said. “It makes us better for our urban members and vice versa.”
As Boone Electric continues expanding its biodiesel use, the cooperative hopes to serve as a model for other electric cooperatives considering the fuel.
“The cooperatives work pretty closely together and meet throughout the year,” Goodnight said. “We can share what we’re doing and learn what other co-ops are exploring. That’s the nature of cooperatives — cooperation among cooperatives. We all want to work together to improve each other’s operations.”