Montgomery Co. Fair Goes Biodiesel

GAITHERSBURG, Md. - When you're spinning through the air at the Montgomery County Fair, the spinning earth is getting a little break, too.

"What happened was we became very conscious of the fact that we used an awful lot of diesel fuel during the course of the Fair," said executive director Marty Svrcek.

So, the Fair teamed with the Maryland Soybean Board and Powers Great American Midways, which operates the rides. They have come together to convert the Fair's source of power. Now instead of ordinary diesel, the rides and lights are powered by generators burning clean diesel made from soy beans.

"Instead of our total dependence on foreign oil, we're taking a product grown in Maryland by Maryland farmers. We're putting that into our generators to produce the electricity that fuels the Montgomery County Fair," said Charlie Belknap of Powers Great American Midways.

This isn't just good for the environment. It may also be helping the Fair. When it burns, soy biodiesel smells a whole lot better than regular diesel. It may even make you hungry. In fact, it smells like popcorn.

Davohn Davis has been visiting fairs since he was a kid. Even amid all the activity, he noticed the soy biodiesel signs.

"Were you surprised when you read it?" FOX 5's Beth Parker asked him.

"Actually, I kinda was," Davis said. "It's an agricultural fair, so it's kinda common sense, but common sense isn't always all that common."

The Fair's also switched to longer-lasting LED bulbs and boosted recycling. As for the monster truck races, there are no hybrids there. That's still somewhere down the road.