[Biodiesel News] Proposed biodiesel plant gets state aid

Proposed biodiesel plant gets state aid

Oil City Derrick - Oil City,PA,USA

By JUDITH O. ETZEL. The proposed biodiesel fuel plant at the former Pennzoil refinery property in Rouseville got a huge financial boost Wednesday. ...

 

The proposed biodiesel fuel plant at the former Pennzoil refinery property in Rouseville got a huge financial boost Wednesday.

 

A total of $2.3 million in state monies has been earmarked for the project, according to an announcement by state Sen. Mary Jo White (R-21st) of Franklin

 

Obtaining the money paved the way for three objectives tied to the proposed fuel plant, White said. The project, she said in a prepared statement, will "create jobs, contribute to America's energy independence and put an old site to good use."

 

The funds - a $1.78 million grant and a $594,000 loan - will be used to improve and expand Rouseville Borough's municipal wastewater system.

 

That, in turn, will allow the biodiesel fuel plant project to move ahead, said White.

 

White said the money will be used to build an ultra-violet system that will disinfect wastewater at the rate of an average 240,000 gallons per day. It will serve 244 Rouseville homes and businesses plus serve the biodiesel plant at the old Pennzoil refinery lot.

 

Enviro-Biodiesel, a New Castle-based company that intends to operate the proposed 46 million-gallons-a-year plant, has done a considerable amount of engineering work and environmental studies in preparation for building the Rouseville plant. Some environmental permits are already in hand and the borough is preparing for a transfer of the property to the new business.

 

Allegheny-Clarion Valley Development Corp. is overseeing the plant project.

 

The $25 million-plus construction project, first announced in September 2005, will convert soy to fuel. In its early production stages, the workforce would be in the 30-to-35-person range with that number expected to grow if the plant expands due to demand.

 

Last spring, Walt Frint, executive director of the Allegheny Valley Development Corp., said construction of the plant could begin before the end of the year and it could be in production by the summer of 2007.

 

White said the state funding also has a positive spin for the borough itself. The wastewater system upgrades will enable Rouseville to add more customers from surrounding areas to the municipal service.  

 
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Posted by Vince to Biodiesel News at 9/21/2006 05:32:00 AM