This essay contends that national energy policy both purposefully and indirectly disadvantages a Philadelphia-based initiative that would simultaneously foster energy self-reliance, help improve the city’s air quality, lower costs associated with wastewater treatment, and provide an alternative to imported petroleum-based vehicle fuel. Although some of the obstacles confronting this initiative are endemic to the character of Philadelphia’s fractured approach to urban management, this article suggests that a change in national energy policy could do much to enhance Philadelphia’s prospects to develop a commercial-scale biodiesel production facility that exploits a trap grease, an as yet virtually unutilized ingredient for making a biogenic fuel.
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