An increasing number of New Canaanites are turning toward a more environmentally friendly type of home heating oil—a change that’s had a measurably positive impact on emissions, according to a company with local ties that offers the product. About 300 New Canaan customers of Westmore Fuel now are using bio-fuel, according to company officials. A blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent ultra-low conventional heating oil, the “BioHeat”-brand product is said by Westmore to be cleaner than natural gas and has the following environmental impact locally:
A Greenwich-based business that had been founded in Port Chester, N.Y. by the Bologna family, Westmore began as an ice and coal provider. This year, 2017, marks Westmore’s 70th year offering fuel oil and in the last decade it has transitioned to bio-fuel exclusively—a singular commitment to the earth-friendly product that the company’s oil delivery manager, New Canaan resident Sean Lytle, said reflects the company’s pursuit of “the latest and greatest [products] out there.”
“We are less reliant on foreign oil and the biggest thing is that we are figuring out how to make an environmental impact,” Lytle told NewCanaanite.com on a recent morning. “The biggest competitor [to bio-fuel] is natural gas, and when you factor in BioHeat and ultra-low sulfur diesel, it [bio-fuel] burns much cleaner and much safer.”
Westmore has its own 1.2 million-gallon terminal with BioHeat fuel in Westchester, and offers the product at a 20 cent-per-gallon tax incentive in New York State.
