Photo from: http://www.vecenergy.com/bida.htm
PASCO -- Gen-X Energy Group in Pasco has been awarded a $720,000 grant of federal economic development money to build a biodiesel refinery in Richland.
The award was among $16.5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants and loans announced this week by Gov. Chris Gregoire and the state Department of Commerce. The money was awarded for energy efficiency, clean technology, transportation and bioenergy projects.
The initial unit of the biodiesel refinery could be operating by the end of the year at the Horn Rapids Industrial Park. The federal money would be used with private money for the first phase of the project, which will cost $2.9 million, according to the Gen-X application for the grant.
"There's no way we'd go ahead with this project on this schedule and scale without the stimulus money," said managing partner John Forrest.
Gen-X plans a biodiesel refinery using new technology that it told the state "significantly reduces cost of manufacture and operation through process simplification and heat integration."
A biodiesel plant can put lots of people into good jobs fast, it looks like our smart administration knows this, and I think this country will turn more and more to biodiesel for jobs and independence.
SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Mar 30, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Autodesk, Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!adsk/quotes/nls/adsk (ADSK 29.38, -0.02, -0.07%) , a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, has announced that Springboard Biodiesel, a privately held company focused on the small-scale biodiesel processing market, is successfully using Autodesk Inventor software to design and manufacture its clean tech solutions in less time.
Springboard Biodiesel believes that the best way to provide biodiesel economically and support its proliferation is by enabling local, profitable production from the least expensive feed stocks. The company's newest product, the Springboard Biodiesel Intelligent Local Production (ILP), addresses this challenge by providing the means for small-scale, local production of fuel-grade biodiesel from a broad spectrum of sources -- everything from low-quality, used cooking oil to high-quality, virgin soybean oil.
For those who are interested in learning more about how RFS2 will be affecting your biofuels business, there is an RFS2 Workshop being held in Des Moines, Iowa at the Sheraton West Des Moines Hotel on April 6th. The workshop is being hosted by the Renewable Fuels Association, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the National Biodiesel Board. The event is free for members of these organizations. Nonmembers can attend for a nominal fee.
This RFS2 Workshop will cover all aspects of the re-registration process for ethanol and biodiesel producers. EPA personnel will be on hand to walk you through the process of updating your CDX account, give you details regarding the requirements of the independent engineering study, and offer helpful tips and hints for mastering the EMTS program for RINS. In addition, they will review how the pathways to plant expansions and technology updates will affect your plant.
Here’s an event for serious workers in the biodiesel and ethanol fields, looks like a course in how to deal with the government, the EPA, when you wish to expand or build a new plant.
THE FUTURE: Dave Morison a technical expert at Biogreen Diesel pours biodiesel into a container Picture: SHELLEY CHRISTIANS Photo from: http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article203668.ece/Fuelled-by-poultry-power
Green Valley Biofuels LLC is now delivering biodiesel to distributors.
But how long the Warrenville, S.C., company can continue to make those deliveries remains in question. It is operating at a loss, waiting for Congress to renew two biofuels tax credits that expired at the end of 2009.
The credits have been passed by both the U.S. House and Senate, but are waiting for reconciliation as part of a larger bill. Congress is currently on a two-week recess and won't resume work until April 13.
"We won't be able to continue this indefinitely," said Chuck Pardue, the company's president. "At some point, it's really going to hurt us. We really need to have it reconciled immediately so we can start operating near our capacity."
The federal government moves like a big old river barge, it doesn’t stop or turn on a dime, so the recent reinstatement of the tax credit will take some time to settle in. Hope we can get it for five years next time.