HOOKSETT — In a move Oakhurst Dairy officials hope will serve as a model for New Hampshire businesses and fleet managers, the family-owned Maine dairy has added three hybrid-electric delivery trucks at its Hooksett facility.

The new trucks replace three traditional petro-diesel trucks and will account for nearly 40 percent of the Hooksett facility's delivery fleet. The hybrids will use 30 to 50 percent less fuel than their petro-diesel counterparts, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 52,000 pounds every year.

The purchases were funded in part by a state Department of Environmental Services Alternative Fuel Vehicles Grant through the Granite State Clean Cities Coalition, with funds made available through the federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality program under the Department of Transportation. The air-quality program is charged with reducing emissions in areas where high traffic volume reduces air quality below federal air quality standards.

Oakhurst, whose delivery routes include high-ozone areas in Manchester and surrounding municipalities, applied for the grant in September 2011 and was one of four recipients, including compressed natural gas installer AVSG, Pugliese Contracting Corp. of Windham and the city of Nashua's compressed natural gas station.

Oakhurst is required under the grant's terms to assess and report the new delivery trucks' reliability, fuel savings, maintenance and emission reductions over the next five years to the Clean Cities Coalition. The data will be used by the coalition as a model for other New Hampshire businesses and fleet managers considering hybrid technology.

In addition to using hybrid technology, the trucks use a 50 percent blend of biodiesel fuel processed by Simply Green Biofuels of Portsmouth. Fifty percent is an atypically high blend for American markets and is largely limited to experimental usage. Five to 30 percent biodiesel blends are far more common.

“There's a perception throughout that biodiesel is this kind of 'unproven technology,' ” said Joel Bobbett, general manager of Simply Green Biofuels, during an unveiling last week. “Our vision is bigger than that. (Oakhurst) truly are trailblazers to put B50 into such large use all the way throughout their fleet.” Ninety percent of Oakhurst's delivery fleet uses biodiesel fuel, though not B50 exclusively.

Used in regular diesel engines, biodiesel has a higher cetane rating than regular diesel, making it a more powerful fuel with less engine wear. It is also considered a more sustainable source of energy, being based on vegetable oil or animal fat.

“It's not an inferior fuel to regular diesel; it's not a more expensive fuel than regular diesel at this point. It is a 'why not' fuel,” Bobbett said. “If it runs cleaner, runs better, why not?”

Oakhurst has cultivated an image as a successful environmentally conscious business. Its first hybrid delivery truck was introduced in 2009, and in 2008 its Portland, Maine, plant was outfitted with 75 solar energy panels. Forty-five percent of Oakhurst's sales vehicles are hybrids. In addition to its use of alternative fuel, the company has incorporated truck skirts and anti-idling technology into its delivery fleets to reduce gas consumption.

“This (expansion of the hybrid fleet) really fits into our sustainability goals for the company. We have an overarching goal of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2014. ... These go a long way toward getting there,” said Oakhurst Chairman Bill Bennett. “We'd love to use biofuel in every one of our vehicles; we'd love to use all hybrids. I'm not sure how feasible that is in the near future, but hopefully in the not too distant future we can get there.”

bclogston@newstote.com