East Side’s biodiesel push revs up

OLYMPIA – Trying to kickstart a homegrown-fuels industry, the head of a legislative committee on Thursday proposed $9 million in low-interest state loans for biodiesel facilities in the Spokane Valley and three other sites across Eastern Washington.

Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, said the crop-based fuel industry is constrained now by a lack of cash to build the seed crushers and refineries to make such fuels. He wants the state to help.

Dunshee’s House Bill 2393 originally just set aside $9 million for unspecified alternative fuels projects. A proposed substitute bill being circulated in the Statehouse now specifies for the first time where that $9 million might go.

Spurred by last year’s record-high fuel prices, state lawmakers and the governor are rushing to add more incentives for producing plant fuels such as biodiesel – made from vegetable oil – and ethanol, made from crop- or wood-based alcohol.

Under the state constitution, Washington cannot legally give away or lend taxpayers’ money to private companies. So all four of the projects would be spearheaded by local government agencies, such as ports. But all would team up with local companies or farm cooperatives to provide the crops – typically canola or mustard seed – and run the facilities. Each project is expected to need seven to 11 workers, although that doesn’t include farm workers and truckers to grow and haul the oil seeds.

According to the bill and information obtained by The Spokesman-Review, the projects are:

“Spokane County Conservation District: $2.75 million for a crusher and oil processing facility alongside the Cooperative Agricultural Producers’ Northwest Pea and Bean Co. facility in Spokane Valley. Other partners in the 5-million-gallon-a-year operation would be the Genessee Union Warehouse Co., Whitman County Grain Growers and Uniontown Cooperative.

“Port of Columbia County: $2.75 million for a crusher and processing plant about 25 miles northeast of Dayton, adjacent to the Columbia County Grain Growers’ elevator. A new company, Pacific AgriEnergy LLC, would be a partner in the 10-million gallon project.

“Port of Sunnyside: $750,000 for a smaller-scale crushing and processing facility, run with Natural Selection Farms Inc.

“Odessa Public Development Authority: $2.75 million for a 4-million-gallon-a-year crushing facility in Odessa. Inland Empire Oilseeds LLC is the partner company.

Combined, the facilities would be able to produce about 20 million gallons of biodiesel annually and would satisfy another proposed requirement that 2 percent of all diesel fuel consumed in Washington be biodiesel.