Biodiesel facility plans unveiled

Biodiesel facility plans unveiled
Delmarva Daily Times - MD,USA
... are potential markets for a renewable energy compound that mixes soybean oil or chicken fat, methanol and a pinch of lye to make biodiesel, said officials at ...

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PRINCESS ANNE -- Public school buses and fire trucks are potential markets for a renewable energy compound that mixes soybean oil or chicken fat, methanol and a pinch of lye to make biodiesel, said officials at Baltimore Biodiesel LLC who want to build a processing plant in the town industrial park.

"On buses, it would reduce emissions; we'd like to work out a program that makes it affordable," David Johnston, manager at the Columbia, Md.-based company. "We would like to work that out."

Company officials at Monday's work session of the Town Commissioners unveiled an architectural rendering of the proposed Progress Lane facility expected to boost revenue and create jobs -- and at a community meeting planned next week, draw a multitude of questions from nearby wary residents about safety.

Company President Erik Lytikainen called the proposed plant a "new economy" that would put Princess Anne on the leading edge in an alternative energy industry circling the globe. If approved, the plant could become the first renewable energy processor in Somerset County, generating thousands of dollars in annual town or county revenue and putting to work 10 people on three shifts.

"It is new and is a thriving business in this country and overseas," Lytikainen told commissioners. "It makes a lot of sense."

Monday's presentation afforded elected officials insights into an industry that commissioners have indicated they know little about, but must eventually decide on whether to approve the Baltimore Biodiesel proposal on about 3 acres along Progress Lane in the Princess Anne Industrial Park.

Town Manager Jay Parker had said that a local market for the biodiesel would be explored, but on Monday he did not indicate whether discussions had started with bus contractors or the Somerset County Board of Education.

At the work session, Lytikainen said biodiesel was clean burning relative to petroleum, with one-tenth of the emission from a typical school bus. He also assured commissioners that the proposed plant would expel no foul odor or be an eyesore.

Krystal Wilson, who lives nearby the proposed site, attended the work session to listen. She intends to speak at the upcoming community meeting and again at a 7 p.m. public hearing on Oct. 9.

"I'd like to know about the worst case scenario. They didn't say how the town would handle an emergency," she said after the session. "I intend to find out how they would work with the community and the town in case of an emergency."

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