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Shipley Energy recorded the third installment of its Energy Exchange podcast on May 20, 2025, live from the Eastern Energy Expo in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Host Seth Nenstiel sat down with Michael Devine, President of the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA), to explore the rapidly evolving world of renewable heating fuels.
Industry growth: Michael traced his journey from family‑owned heating oil in 1986 to finding renewables fuels and watching biodiesel and renewable diesel production grow from 15 million gallons then to over 5 billion gallons today.
Fuel distinctions: A clear breakdown of how biodiesel’s transesterification differs from renewable diesel’s refinery‑style processing—and why renewable diesel is a true drop‑in fuel meeting ASTM 396 and ASTM 975.
150‑site field study: Conversation around NORA’s 150‑location pilot in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts using RD80/B20 and RD50/B50 blends respectively.
Carbon reduction: Insights into how renewable diesel and biodiesel blends can significantly reduce carbon intensity by 75–80% compared to conventional diesel.
Policy & market drivers: Discussion of potential state‑level incentives and the role of major fleets (FedEx, UPS) and refiners (Chevron) in accelerating adoption.
Tune in below to the full episode—available now—to hear Seth and Michael dive deeper into these topics and what they mean for homeowners and businesses alike. Enjoy more episodes of the Energy Exchange podcast.
Seth Nenstiel: Hi, I’m Seth Nenstiel with Shipley Energy: The Energy Exchange podcast coming to you from the Eastern Energy Expo here in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I’m with Michael Divine. He is the president of NORA, the National Oil Heat Research Alliance.
Michael it’s great to have you here with us today. Michael, NORA has been up to do some exciting things lately, including working on a pilot of renewable heating fuel with Shipley Energy, along with some other suppliers. But before we get into that today, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and what NORA is doing?
Michael Devine: Sure, Seth. So thank you very much for having me today. It’s a pleasure to be here with you. So I started off in the heating oil industry back in 1986. Getting out of college, in a family business that has now celebrated 100 years. Moved from that and found a passion in renewable fuels.
I’ve been in the renewable fuel space for over 20 years commercially, and then came to NORA in February of 2022 and have had the real pleasure of working with a lot of real talented people at NORA.
Seth: Well, it sounds like quite the career. What’s been some of the highlights of your time?
Michael: Coming into the renewable fuels end of the business has been a real joy. When I came into it originally, there was probably 15 million gallons of biodiesel being produced at the time. Now, between biodiesel and renewable diesel, there are over 5 billion gallons that are being produced. So to say that I was on the ground floor of this, it would be accurate. So to watch this industry grow and to be a part of it as it’s been growing has been a real joy.
Seth: That’s great. That’s great. And for listeners who might be unfamiliar, what are the distinctions between renewable diesel and biodiesel fuels and how do they differ from traditional fuels?
Michael: Great question, Seth. So biodiesel has been around a little bit longer than renewable diesel commercially in the United States, probably over the last 20 years. It originally was the fuel that Rudolf Diesel utilized when he brought his diesel engine to the Paris World Expo and World’s Fair in 1900. But commercially, it’s really been over the last 20 years or so that biodiesel has really started to grow commercially. Biodiesel is transesterified. So essentially, it goes through a process where methanol is introduced as a catalyst and it comes into a feedstock, like a used cooking oil or a soybean oil. And it comes out of the transesterification process with biodiesel and some glycerin. That’s a byproduct that comes out of it. So not a terribly complicated or expensive process to go through.
Renewable diesel is refined, similar to what a refinery would refine a barrel of crude. So you take a barrel of crude, you put it through a hydro treated refinery and you come out with renewable diesel, renewable propane, renewable naphtha, renewable gasoline. The same thing happens with a barrel of feedstock, of cooking oil, animal fats and the like.
You’ll produce the same products, but its renewable. So different production processes, different refining processes. Renewable diesel is a complete drop-in. It meets ASTM 396, the heating oil specification, and it meets ASTM 975, the diesel fuel specification. Biodiesel has its own independent ASTM specification, ASTM 6751. So while it’s blended in and utilized in heating oil and diesel applications, it’s not a pure drop in the way that renewable diesel is.
Seth: So what are the main benefits of renewable diesel?
Michael: So renewable diesel is almost identical to a diesel fuel. Some of the benefits to a diesel fuel, certainly are its cetane. A renewable diesel’s cetane is around 70, where over-the-road diesel might be at 40. So a lot of punch is coming out of the renewable diesel. It runs beautifully.
It’s a diesel that can work very well in cold climates. It’s a phenomenal fuel. It’s been utilized in in California through the low carbon fuel standard. Right now, renewable diesel and biodiesel make up 73% of the diesel pool in California, which when you consider California is the fifth largest economy in the world, that’s a lot of diesel.
Seth: And who are common users of renewable diesel?
Michael: Out in California, the obligated parties are over-the road, marketers. So you’ve got truck stops that would be utilizing it. Any filling stations that are selling diesel fuel and also your national fleets: your FedEx’s, your UPS’s. Railroads are using [it], the Union Pacific Railroad has recently become a big user of renewable diesel. We’re now seeing it in marine applications. So, anywhere that you would utilize a diesel fuel. Renewable diesel is finding a market in California.
Seth: And now NORA is currently running a 150 site field study here in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, I guess here in the northeast. Can you tell us a little bit more about this study and what some of the early observations are?
Michael: Sure. So we are being informed by California and the success that California has had in the over-the-road market and with heating oil being almost identical to diesel fuel, we saw renewable diesel as another fuel, another potential heating fuel that could be utilized. So with all of our testing, we start in the lab.
Doctor Butcher and his team have been testing renewable diesel and renewable diesel blends with biodiesel for the past several years, and the results have been phenomenal. It’s been tremendous combustion. It’s been a dynamite fuel. So as we do at NORA, when we test something that works well in the lab, we then want to take it into the field to make sure that it’s going to work really well.
This field study, though, has been much more ambitious, as you said, 150 sites. We’re confident in the technologies. So we want to make sure that the study is large enough that it would be somewhat unimpeachable. So, as you said, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we’re looking at blends of 80% renewable diesel blended with 20% biodiesel. And in Massachusetts, we’re looking at 50% renewable diesel and 50% biodiesel.
So two different studies. We want to be able to test both the fuels for different reasons. And, you know, through our two levels of site testing, we’ve gone out to the sites twice so far. We started the study in January of 2025. We’ve been out to these sites twice so far. They’re fully integrated, and the testing so far has been dynamite.
We’ve noticed very little to no issues whatsoever with the field study so far.
Seth: And how long will the field study go?
Michael: It’s going to at least go through January of 2026 and perhaps through the 2025/2026 heating season.
Seth: Okay, that’s excellent. You know, is there a reason for the difference in blends between Pennsylvania and Massachusetts?
Michael: It’s a good question. So yes, an RD8020 blend could be utilized today commercially. There’s an ASTM specification for renewable diesel and heating oil. It meets 396. And there’s an ASTM designation that allows up to 20% biodiesel to be utilized in heating oil. So already RD80BD20 would be a conforming fuel today in today’s heating markets. So if there was a desire or a need to fully transition to 100% renewable liquid fuels, we could do it today.
The 50/50 blend is interesting because NORA is going to be working with clean fuels and with the oil furnace and boiler manufacturers to ballot ASTM at blends of 50% biodiesel. So we think that this field study could provide a lot of good data for that balloting at ASTM. It’s also, almost in all cases, renewable diesel is a little bit more expensive than biodiesel. So a 50/50 blend would commercially be more interesting from a pricing standpoint. Pricing drives so much of what we do, so we see benefits in being able to test both the fuels independently.
Seth: Okay, excellent. And so when it comes to my home or for my business, are there any risks to switching to the renewable fuels or is it just as simple as switching?
Michael: Great question. And that’s what we’re going to find out in the field study. One of the things that was really important for us was to go into the field study and drop in these fuels without changing anything. We didn’t need the unit tuned up. No changes in equipment, tanks, filters, anything. We wanted to see what the drop in would be like, to see if there were any issues on immediate conversion. In the first six months of this study, there haven’t been any. So it looks like, no, there’ll be no changes that we need to make whatsoever. But again, that’s part of what the field testing is all about.
Seth: So time will tell.
Michael: But the results look good so far.
Seth: That’s great. Does it require any additional equipment or extra costs to the end user to make the switch?
Michael: So there’s no cost in switching as far as anything that you have to change with your heating system. It’s a pure drop in, the systems today are working really well. And a big credit to the burner manufacturers and some of the boiler manufacturers who are already warranting 100% renewable fuels in their products. But what we’re seeing in those products that haven’t been warranted, the product is working really well. So it doesn’t look like we’re going to need to make any changes whatsoever. Again, that’s what the field testing is going to take us through. If there are any parts that are being changed in the field study, NORA wants to receive them. We want to evaluate them. Is it normal wear and tear, or is it something in the fuel that we need to be mindful of?
So again, so far the results look really well. But what we want to do is complete a study as we can with as many pieces of equipment that are out in the field so that we can try to, you know, try to understand every situation that may arise.
Seth: Okay. Now, I burn heating oil in my home. Am I going to notice any sort of different smell or sound or any sort of different level of warmth coming off it?
Michael: None whatsoever. The BTUs between heating oil and renewable diesel are very close. Renewable diesel is 132,000 BTUs. Heating oil at 137,000 BTUs. So very close in the BTUs that are happening there. So you won’t notice any changes in usage. You won’t notice any changes in combustion. Smell anything.
Seth: So I’ll stay warm and comfortable year round?
Michael: Absolutely.
Seth: Excellent. That’s what we like.
And are these renewable fuels available now for us to buy?
Michael: They are. They’re commercially available. So right now, between renewable diesel and biodiesel in the United States, there are 5 billion gallons that were used in 2024. And this market is continuing to grow. We’re seeing investments independently of major oil companies, and we’re seeing major oil companies also converting some of their existing refineries into renewable diesel refining as well. So it’s continuing to grow. And we anticipate this space to continue to grow into the future.
Seth: Excellent. Excellent. So, Michael, how do renewable diesel and renewable fuel blends stack up in terms of carbon reduction?
Michael: Great question. So in the state of California, everything measured in a carbon intensity score. So carbon CARB diesel for example had a CARB carbon intensity score of 105 megajoules per gallon. Renewable diesel and a biodiesel blend depending to some degree on the feedstocks, are going to be anywhere from a 75% to an 80% reduction in that carbon intensity. So significant reductions in carbon intensity utilizing renewable diesel or biodiesel.
Seth: And are there any policy shifts or incentives that could accelerate the adoption of renewable fuels or biofuel distributors or end consumers?
Michael: So the policy shifts? Absolutely. It’s a policy shift in California that essentially created renewable diesel production in the first place. So if we see policy shifts in states like Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, all states that have had some discussions about lower carbon fuel standards, clean heat standards and the like, then that could really perpetuate the use of renewable diesel and biodiesel into liquid heating.
Seth: Michael, you’ve worked with Chevron and Fedex. What does it really take to get these major industry players to buy into renewable fuels?
Michael: So two things. And then sometimes a little marketing. So first and foremost, you have to be confident that the fuel’s going to work, that you’re not going to have any drop off from what you’re used to purchasing or used to using. So that quality assurance that’s going to come with a new fuel is essential. The end user has to know that they’re not sacrificing anything in performance or the like to be able to integrate that. So that’s number one. Number two, pricing is always a consideration. We all want to be able to reduce our carbon footprint. But at what costs are we willing to do so. So, you know, as we’ve seen in some of these different states, sometimes some of the policies can drive some of what they want to be able to do. But those are certainly two of the key points that typically drive things forward. And lastly, what is it that a Chevron or a Fedex or a UPS — How serious are they about reducing their carbon intensity? If they are serious about it, then renewable diesel and biodiesel and these blends can do it as cost effectively as any other way to mitigate carbon. So it’s a commitment on that side that this is something that they want to do, as opposed to just looking at it from a price comparative standpoint. But quality comes and I think quality is the most important factor starting out.
Seth: Well, Michael, it’s been great to have you on the podcast today. Thank you so much for myself. Thank you so much from Shipley Energy. Thank you for educating us on renewable fuels.
Michael: Thank you. Thanks for looking and thanks Shipley Energy for finding really innovative ways to communicate what’s happening in our industry. It’s a great job.
Seth: I really appreciate it.
Michael: Thank you. Seth.
