DCAS and NYC DOT Announce First Barge Delivery of Renewable Diesel, Marking the Staten Island Ferry’s Full Transition to Cleaner Energy

June 18, 2025

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(New York City Department of Transportation) A Shipment Containing 336,000 Gallons of Hydrogenation-Derived Renewable Diesel – a Sustainable Alternative to Petroleum-Based Fuel – Has Now Arrived in Staten Island.

Image of the Staten Island Ferry ‘Spirit of America’ making a trip during sunset.

Image of the Staten Island Ferry ‘Spirit of America’ making a trip during sunset. Credit: NYC DOT

NEW YORK – The Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) today (June 17, 2025) announced the official start of the Staten Island Ferry's transition to renewable diesel, marked by the delivery of the first barge of fuel to the ferry system. This first shipment, totaling 336,000 gallons, begins the full replacement of petroleum diesel with a more sustainable alternative. The Staten Island Ferry fleet uses approximately 4.5 million gallons of fuel each year, and the transition supports the city's commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent in 2030.

"New York City has one of the best ferry systems in the world, and the Staten Island Ferry is no exception. Today, we take the next step to modernize this critical fleet by transitioning to sustainable, renewable diesel," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. "The more than 45,000 New Yorkers who use the Staten Island Ferry each day will now travel powered by clean energy. This is just our latest effort on this front — our administration is laser-focused on making our entire city safer, cleaner, and greener every single day."

"The Staten Island Ferry is the busiest municipal ferry service in the country, and today's announcement offers a key step towards a cleaner and healthier New York City," said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. "When we all work together to green our transportation system, we can achieve our climate goals faster, showing the rest of the country how it can and should be done."

"This delivery marks another tremendous milestone in our mission to make the city's fleet cleaner and more sustainable," said DCAS Commissioner Louis A. Molina. "Having successfully transitioned the city's heavy-duty and offroad fleet to renewable diesel, we have expanded its use to the Staten Island Ferry fleet, cutting emissions and proving that green transportation is achievable at a large scale."

"In the last three years, DCAS Fleet worked with each agency operating trucks to coordinate the transition to cleaner renewable diesel," states DCAS Deputy Commissioner and NYC Chief Fleet Officer Keith Kerman. "We are now doing the same with the city's vessel programs including at DOT, DEP, NYPD, FDNY, EDC, and Parks. By July 2026, all city trucks and vessels will use renewable diesel and be powered by used cooking oil and waste tallow."

In October 2024, DCAS and NYC DOT first announced plans to test the use of renewable diesel with the ferry fleet, following the successful transition of the city's heavy-duty and offroad vehicles. Since then, the agencies have successfully used more than 1.1 million gallons of renewable diesel across the ferry fleet. While inspecting internal engine components, NYC DOT found that using renewable diesel led to cleaner equipment with less carbon buildup compared to previous inspections conducted at similar times using non-renewable diesel. The renewable fuel being used is primarily made from waste materials, such as cooking oil and tallow. In March, DCAS finalized a new fuel contract to support this transition, marking the first renewable diesel contract that references the Argus RD index price for the New York Harbor, ensuring that the fuel aligns with the market value.

"The Staten Island Ferry is more than a mode of transportation it is part of our identity. This transition to renewable diesel marks a monumental step toward cleaner air, a healthier harbor, and a greener future for Staten Island," said Councilmember Kamillah Hanks. "As a community that has been deeply affected by climate change, we understand the urgency of this moment. I commend the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services and the New York City Department of Transportation for their leadership in advancing sustainability and protecting the health of our environment and our community."

"The transition of the Staten Island Ferry to 100 percent renewable diesel is a powerful testament to our climate goals and shows that New York City is leading by example on clean transportation," said Councilmember James Gennaro. As Chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection, Resiliency & Waterfronts, I applaud DCAS and DOT for their leadership in helping our city achieve this important milestone. By cutting emissions from one of our city's busiest transit systems, we are demonstrating our commitment to a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable NYC."

"The Staten Island Ferry is an essential service that thousands of our residents rely on each day to stay connected to the rest of the city," said Assemblymember Charles D. Fall. "Any improvements that enhance public health, safety, and quality of life for riders are a welcome investment in the well-being of our entire borough."

DCAS is also working closely with other agencies to further expand the use of renewable diesel across the city's marine operations, including the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the New York City Police Department (NYPD) Harbor Patrol, NYC Parks Marinas, and the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) to test the fuel and expand usage further. To date, the city has used 27 million gallons of renewable diesel across its fleet and ferries, ranging from diesel vehicle units, on and off road, and non-emergency vehicles. The city's goal is to transition all municipal vessels by June 30, 2026.

These advancements reflect DCAS' ongoing efforts as a national leader in sustainable, safe, and efficient fleet operations, managing the largest electric vehicle (EV) fleet and charging networks in New York State, with 5,500 EVs and 2,250 chargers respectively. This month, DCAS and FDNY unveiled the purchasing of 30 all-electric vehicles, marking the latest large-scale investment in sustainable fleet while advancing citywide emission reduction goals. DCAS is also the first large fleet on the East Coast to completely transition from fossil diesel fuel to renewable diesel. Moving forward, DCAS remains committed to transforming the city's fleet with more innovative technologies and effectively developing a greener, and safer New York City for all.

About the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services

The NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) makes city government work for all New Yorkers. Our commitment to equity, effectiveness, and sustainability guides our work providing city agencies with the resources and support needed to succeed, including:

Recruiting, hiring, and training city employees.
Managing 55 public buildings.
Acquiring, selling, and leasing city property.
Purchasing over $1 billion in goods and services for city agencies.
Overseeing the greenest municipal vehicle fleet in the country.
Leading the city's efforts to reduce carbon emissions from government operations.

Learn more about DCAS by visiting nyc.gov/dcas and by following us on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and listening to the Inside Citywide podcast.

About the NYC Department of Transportation

The New York City Department of Transportation's (NYC DOT) mission is to provide for the safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible movement of people and goods in the City of New York and to maintain and enhance the transportation infrastructure crucial to the economic vitality and quality of life of our primary customers, city residents. NYC DOT's staff manage an annual operating budget of $1.4 billion and a ten-year $33 billion capital program, along with 6,300 miles of streets and highways, over 12,000 miles of sidewalk, and approximately 800 bridges and tunnels, including the iconic East River bridges. NYC DOT's staff also installs and maintains nearly one million street signs, 13,250 signalized intersections, over 315,000 street lights, and over 350 million linear feet of markings. READ MORE

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Sprague Operating Resources awarded renewable diesel supply contract for New York City Ferry System (Sprague Operating Resources/Biodiesel Magazine)

Excerpt from Sprague Operating Resources/Biodiesel Magazine: Sprague Operating Resources LLC, a leading provider of energy and materials handling services across the Northeast, on June 24 announced it has been selected by the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) to supply renewable diesel (RD) for its marine fleet, including the iconic Staten Island Ferry. This significant contract marks a major step in New York City's plan, announced in October 2024, to transition its marine vessels to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emission fuels.

"We are incredibly proud to partner with New York City and DCAS on this critical initiative," said David Glendon, Chairman at Sprague. "Supplying renewable diesel for the city's ferry fleet aligns perfectly with Sprague's long-standing commitment to providing sustainable and renewable energy solutions. This contract is a testament to our team's capabilities and our shared vision with the city of New York."

RD is produced from renewable sources such as used cooking oil and waste fats that are refined to be chemically identical to traditional fossil-fuel diesel, so it can be used in existing diesel engines and infrastructure, like those on the Staten Island Ferry system. By changing their fuels to RD, the busiest municipal ferry system in the Nation will immediately lower lifecycle GHG emissions (up to 60 percent) as it carries over 24 million passengers each year.

"We congratulate Sprague and are excited to partner with them on this exciting initiative for New York City," said Neal Sahni, General Manager of St. Bernard Renewables (a joint venture between PBF Energy and Enilive). "Delivering renewable fuels from our biorefinery on the Gulf Coast represents a key milestone for distributing our low carbon intensity fuels into the emerging Northeast renewable fuels market, which we are proud to supply."

Sprague has a long history of introducing cleaner fuel solutions in NYC and across the Northeast and continues to expand its renewable diesel offerings to meet growing demand from transportation, marine, and heating customers throughout the region. Learn more about Sprague's sustainability initiatives at www.spragueenergy.com/sustainability. READ MORE