New York is serious about cutting emissions. But the path forward is not a single road. The state still has more than 1.3 million households heating with oil. Its roads and freight corridors run on diesel. Its ferries run on diesel. Many schools, hospitals, and municipal buildings burn heating oil to keep the lights and stay warm every winter. The fastest and most cost-effective way to reduce the carbon intensity is through low carbon liquid fuels. Biofuels and renewable diesel make that possible today, in existing equipment, without expensive infrastructure upgrades.
Sprague has been proving this in New York for more than 25 years.
New York’s Clean Fuel Moment
New York’s 2026 state budget revised portions of the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), adjusting timelines and updating how emissions reductions are measured and credited. One important result: biofuel emissions reductions that were not being counted correctly under the old framework now get proper credit. For an industry that has been supplying lower-carbon liquid fuels for years, that is a meaningful shift.
Kris DeLair, Executive Director of the Empire State Energy Association, put it directly: “It really gives our fuels now a chance to show their reduction emissions, because before that they weren’t being counted properly.”
Sprague has supplied biofuels at the Port of Rensselaer since 2009. Peter McHenry, Director of Terminal Operations at Sprague in New York, sees the updated framework as an opportunity: “It’ll allow us to educate people a little more. It’ll help us get the word out there and get people to be using these fuels.”
The Reality of Liquid Fuel Dependence in New York
New York remains one of the largest heating oil markets in the country. Roughly 1.3 to 1.4 million households still rely on heating oil, particularly in Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and upstate regions. That does not count the schools, hospitals, office buildings, and municipal facilities that also heat with oil.
On the transportation side, medium- and heavy-duty trucking face real constraints around electrification. Fast-charging heavy-duty vehicles can require megawatt-scale power and significant grid upgrades. Battery range and cold-weather performance remain challenges for many commercial routes. They are reasons to utilize liquid fuels to reduce the carbon intensity.
What Renewable Diesel and Biofuels Are
Renewable diesel is produced from used cooking oil, waste fats, canola, and soybean oil. It is chemically similar to fossil diesel, which means it works in existing diesel engines without modification. It meets ASTM D-975 specifications, performs well in cold weather, and can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75% compared to fossil diesel, depending on the feedstock.
Biofuel and biodiesel are also made from organic feedstocks such as vegetable oils, animal fats, and recycled cooking grease. It can be blended with petroleum diesel or heating oil at various concentrations. Common blends like B5 or B20 indicate the percentage of biodiesel in the mix. Biodiesel does not perform as well as renewable diesel in very cold temperatures, which is a factor to weigh depending on the application and season.
Both fuels share a key advantage: they can work within the infrastructure that already exists.
The Heating Option Most People Don’t Know About
Most conversations about biofuels focus on transportation, but biofuel and renewable diesel blends can be used in many existing oil-fired heating systems. For schools, hospitals, municipal buildings, and commercial properties that currently heat with oil, a switch to a bio-blended fuel can lower emissions without replacing a boiler or upgrading infrastructure. The fuel is delivered the same way. The equipment runs the same way. The difference shows up in the carbon footprint.
This is not a future possibility. It is an option available today. For organizations that face pressure to lower emissions, bio-blended heating fuels can be a practical and meaningful first step.
Sprague’s 25-Year Track Record in New York
In 2000, Sprague supplied Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) to the New York City Transit Authority a full decade before the EPA mandate required it. At the time, the industry was waiting for direction from Washington. Sprague was already moving. That early investment helped prove that ULSD could work at scale, and became a national model for cleaner transportation fuel. Read more about Sprague’s ULSD legacy.
The same approach is at work today with renewable diesel. As Steven J. Levy, Managing Director at Sprague, put it: “The same way ULSD was introduced before it was required, we’re now doing the same with renewable diesel.”
What Sprague Is Doing Right Now
Sprague’s renewable diesel work in New York is not theoretical. It is already underway.
In 2025, Sprague was selected by the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services to supply renewable diesel for the city’s marine fleet, including the Staten Island Ferry. The ferry carries more than 24 million passengers each year. By switching to renewable diesel, the Staten Island Ferry is able to lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 60%. Read the full announcement.
Sprague also opened the first renewable diesel retail station in New York City, located in the Bronx. Learn more about that milestone.
Renewable diesel is available today for rack loading and delivery through Sprague’s terminals in the Bronx and Albany, with commercial and fleet services available through its Lawrence, NY terminal as well.
What This Means for Your Fleet, Building, or Business If you operate a diesel fleet, a building that heats with oil, or a fuel distribution business serving customers across New York, lower-carbon options are available today. No new equipment required. No overhaul of your supply chain. The fuel works with what you already have.
For many organizations, the question is not whether to reduce emissions. The question is where to start. Biofuels and renewable diesel are a practical answer, available right now, backed by a supplier with the infrastructure and track record to deliver at scale.
Learn more about Sprague’s renewable diesel supply capabilities.
