Seattlest: New Biodiesel Plant in Grays Harbor

Dan

Thu, 11 May 2006 10:20:35 -0800

They have and they're selling well in Europe. There's even a new BMW diesel coupe. I meant to say Mercedes, though, which you see a lot of around Seattle - The 300Ds and 300SDs from the '80s.

johno

Thu, 11 May 2006 10:04:26 -0800

BMW diesel?? never built one as far as I know. You must be mistaken.

Dan

Wed, 10 May 2006 14:50:04 -0800

Alright, I was reaching to introduce the fact that the Grays Harbor facility plans to use foreign palm oil and current Seattle biodiesel outlets use oil from out-of-state, but then never actually said it in the text. You're right. It was just supposed to be a little transition, though, to the fact that Washington farmers are not exactly on the bandwagon yet, but the plan is to eventually have a readily available, locally produced fuel. And I do consider Alaska foreign.

Rob Elam

Wed, 10 May 2006 14:37:48 -0800

Just to correct a misconception... This statement misleading "Yeah, unfortunately for the time being switching your whip over to biodiesel isn't going to do anything to address your personal reliance on foreign oil." All the biodiesel available today in WA is made from domestic soy oil. Whether or not the large facility in Grays Harbor imports palm oil two years from now is a question of global commodity pricing- regardless, imported veggie oil based-biodiesel is not a reality today. Switching your whip to biodiesel will indeed significantly reduce your individual reliance on foreign petroleum. If you consider Alaska foreign, since most all of our local gas is made from Alaskan north slope crude.

Dan

Wed, 10 May 2006 14:08:23 -0800

The Seattle Times said the grays harbor facility plans to use Malaysian palm oil. But Bruce Nave, an Arizona businessman looking to build a biodiesel plant in Whitman County, predicted the Grays Harbor project's use of foreign palm oil could make it less attractive to consumers. "We're trying domestically to get off imported fuels, whether or not it's a renewable fuel or petroleum," he said. The plan to use Malaysian palm oil also raises questions for some about the environmental benefits, because rain forests in Malaysia are being cleared for palm-tree plantations, said Brant Olson, of the environmental group Rainforest Action Network. Plaza said Imperium Renewables will try to make sure its palm oil comes from sustainable palm plantations.

Rob Elam

Wed, 10 May 2006 14:03:49 -0800

Imported veggie oil? The biodiesel used in Seattle is made from soybean oil "imported" from places like Iowa and Missouri. Not exactly Iran or Venezuela- though I've met some shifty Iowans in my time. More stations here: http://www.propelbiofuels.com/site/stations.html

Dan

Wed, 10 May 2006 13:49:01 -0800

Is it just me or do the unrefined veggie oil burners remind any one else of vegans? There's always someone who will be saving the earth harder than you. That thing with the mechanic happend to my friend at Dr. Dan's Fuelwerks. Dan had his van for some random repair and then got so slammed with biodiesel stuff he never got around to it.

COMTE

Wed, 10 May 2006 13:03:45 -0800

Quite a few people in this area also seem to be converting their diesels to Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) burners. My local VW mechanic has actually stopped doing servicing & repair work, because he's so busy selling & installing conversion kits. http://www.frybrid.com

Jake of 8bitjoystick.com

Wed, 10 May 2006 12:19:34 -0800

I am damn proud of Representative Derek Kilmer ( http://www.derekkilmer.com/ ) who sat on the technology committee in the state house and fought for and passed the bio-diesel fuel standard and energy programs. This is a perfect example of the kind of new generational leadership that Washington State needs in the 21th century to face the energy and transpiration problems of the new century.

Seth

Wed, 10 May 2006 12:05:32 -0800

I look forward to a statewide fuel surplus that will permit us to secede from the union and start our own baseball league where Adrian Beltre gets to hit off a tee.