BP announced June 14 that its cleaner-burning, ultra-low sulfur ECD-1 diesel fuel will now be sold at all of its California ARCO and AM/PM retail outlets, where diesel is sold. BP has begun to invest in new retail sites as the company expands its presence in the region with fueling and convenience outlets. BP says these new prototype facilities will utilize solar energy and all will sell cleaner-burning fuels, like ECD-1. BP currently operates or franchises more than 500 ARCO and AM/PM stations in the greater Los Angeles area, some of which are under renovation to modernize older facilities. The company says it plans to sell ECD-1 at approximately 65 ARCO retail sites in the Los Angeles area. The inclusion of solar power at all new AM/PM convenience stores is part of BP’s worldwide effort to demonstrate that energy-related business needs can be met while minimizing environmental impact. The first Los Angeles area station to be built is in South Gate. The company says new solar stations will feature solar photovoltaic panels atop pump island canopies providing enough energy to supply approximately 20 percent of the site’s overall energy needs. BP began marketing the cleaner-burning fuel in December of 1999 and has been selling it through local and regional resellers and distributors. BP currently supplies about 20 percent of the state’s 220,000-barrel-per-day diesel demand, according to California Energy Commission statistics. According to BP, with the increased exposure ECD-1 will have in the retail marketplace, the fuel is capable of reducing particulate matter, hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions from diesel vehicles by more than 90 percent when used in conjunction with an exhaust after treatment filter. BP says this emission improvement is attributed to both the fuel’s ultra-low sulfur content of 15 parts per million (ppm), or almost 10 times lower than average California Air Resources Board (CARB) diesel fuel, and the use of on-board catalytic exhaust filters. According to CARB, there are approximately 750,000 vehicles operating in California that require diesel fuel, some of which have yet to be treated with catalytic exhaust filters. The company will continue to make and sell CARB diesel for its customers who have not yet chosen to move to cleaner-burning ECD-1. To date, BP has introduced cleaner-burning fuels in more than 110 cities worldwide. Last year, BP claims these cleaner burning fuels removed the equivalent of 100,000 cars’ emission from the road every day. In Los Angeles, the equivalent of more than 7,000 cars’ emission was eliminated daily.