Biodiesel plant proposed in Whitman County

COLFAX – A plant for processing canola seed into biodiesel fuel would mean jobs and revenue for Whitman County, says an Arizona executive proposing to build such an operation at the Port of Wilma on the Snake River.

Bruce Nave of Wi BioFuels, a branch of Phoenix-based Western Industrial, outlined the plans to farmers at the Palouse Empire Fairgrounds earlier this week.

The plant, Wi BioFuels’ first biodiesel enterprise, would process as much as 15 million gallons of biodiesel and provide about 41 jobs, Nave said. Wi BioFuels would invest between $21 million and $40 million in the county – mostly in building costs, he said.

Biodiesel is fuel derived from vegetable oil from seed crops such as soybeans, canola and mustard. It burns cleaner and with fewer emissions than petroleum-based diesel fuel, Nave said.

The plant would crush seed – the nearest crusher now is in Montana – and refine the resulting oil into two products: methyl esters, the chemical name for biodiesel, and glycerin, a byproduct that can be sold for use in soaps or other products.

Nave promised the operation would be a zero-discharge facility, meaning no waste would be pumped into the local ecosystem.

Gov. Christine Gregoire has proposed that the state require that all diesel fuel sold in Washington contain a minimum of 2 percent biodiesel – a requirement intended to help jump-start a biodiesel industry in the state.

The Legislature will consider Gregoire’s plan when the new session begins Monday.

At the 15 cents per pound Nave proposes to offer for canola seed, farmer Terry Morgan figures he can earn about $40 more per acre than by growing wheat. Anything over 12 cents would allow a profit, he said, adding that it all depends on yield.

Canola is a little tougher to grow than wheat, he said.