Marathon Petroleum taps renewable diesel for Los Angeles

Two of the company’s transport and rail fleets have fully switched to the alternative fuel from traditional diesel.

Marathon Petroleum’s Vinvale and East Hynes fleets in California’s Los Angeles Basin have transitioned their fleets entirely to renewable diesel.

In 2023, two Marathon Petroleum Transport and Rail (T&R) fleets and two locomotives at the Marathon Petroleum Los Angeles refinery switched from using traditional diesel fuel to renewable diesel. This initiative first began in 2021, when the company began transitioning its ARCO retail sites to renewable diesel.

The terminals started replacing CARB diesel – a specific grade of diesel fuel required by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), with renewable diesel. Now, 35 trucks are operating on renewable diesel in the Los Angeles area.

“At first, drivers asked lots of questions about renewable diesel and if it would have some of the negative effects on the operations of the trucks like biodiesel did in the past. We assured them that this was different. Since we have switched, the drivers haven’t seen any decrease in power, performance or operations,” said Timothy Sweeney, Transport Maintenance Supervisor at Marathon Petroleum.

In 2023, the rail team began fueling the locomotives at a 50-50 mixture with regular diesel and renewable diesel before completely transitioning to 100% renewable diesel.