Big biodiesel plans at port
By Jim Downing - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The governing commission of the Port of Sacramento will consider a proposal to begin lease negotiations and permitting procedures to build a bio-diesel plant on port property.
Primafuel Inc. of Long Beach wants to build a 60 million-gallon-per-year biodiesel plant on a 14-acre site at the port, according to a staff report.
The refinery would convert vegetable oil, most of it imported from other states and countries, into a fuel that produces lower net emissions of common air pollutants and climate-warming carbon dioxide than conventional diesel.
The Primafuel facility, located along Industrial Boulevard across the street from the Farmers Rice Cooperative silos, would generate roughly $1.1 million annually in lease payments and shipping fees for the port, the staff report said.
If constructed, the plant would be nearly 10 times the size of the largest existing biodiesel plant in California. Major facilities are also in development in Bakersfield and at the Port of Stockton.
