[Biodiesel News] Inverell looks at biodiesel potential

Inverell looks at biodiesel potential

Tamworth Northern Daily Leader - Tamworth,New South Wales,Australia

By Jenny Barwick. AS GUNNEDAH'S future as an ethanol producer seems more likely, Inverell's potential as a biodiesel centre is gaining momentum. ...

 

AS GUNNEDAH'S future as an ethanol producer seems more likely, Inverell's potential as a biodiesel centre is gaining momentum.

Biodiesel advocate and Inverell Shire councillor John Irvine recently returned from a trip to the US, where he visited biodiesel plants in Iowa, further enhancing his belief that biodiesel production is a viable, lucrative and environmentally-friendly future for Inverell

 

Inverell council is also looking into the idea, with three councillors and a staff member heading to Brisbane late last week to inspect a tallow-fuelled biodiesel plant.

 

Cr Irvine toured two plants in Iowa, which produced biodiesel from soybeans and were owned and run by a consortium of soybean farmers and biodiesel experts.

 

 

"The plant in Ralston, Iowa makes its biodiesel exclusively from soybeans. It's only a small plant but it produces up to 12 million gallons of biodiesel annually, for a production cost of about $1 a gallon," Cr Irvine said.

 

"I'm more convinced than ever that if we think outside the square we can have a big future in biodiesel in the shire.

 

"I'm not asking council to build a plant, but instead get some sort of funding and create a feasibility study and business plan that we can use to attract potential investors in this sort of development to the region."

 

Cr Irvine said biodiesel had the potential to be a greener, cleaner and more cost-friendly fuel source than ethanol. There were also several product sources that could create biodiesel, many of which Inverell was placed to provide, including tallow – a by-product of its existing abattoir – algae, sunflowers, corn, European carp and scotch thistle. Stock feed and fertilisers were also an added by-product of biodiesel plants.

 

Cr Mick Lewis, was one of the three councillors to visit the Nerang-based plant last week, and said the trip confirmed council's plans to investigate the shire's potential as a biodiesel base.

 

"I think Inverell has a great potential in this industry, we have plenty of positive things to offer interested investors," Cr Lewis said.

 

"The next step will probably be a feasibility study, which will be thoroughly researched, identify the opportunities and promote the region's benefits."

 

The council also used the trip to investigate the potential of changing the council's fleet of vehicles over to biodiesel.

 

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Posted by Vince to Biodiesel News at 9/18/2006 11:47:00 AM