August 27, 2009

Odessa biodiesel firm will

celebrate plant completion

Inland Empire Oilseeds, LLC (IEO), will celebrate the completion of its biodiesel refining plant Wednesday, Sept. 2, with facility tours and a luncheon featuring remarks by state Director of Agriculture Dan Newhouse.

The festivities will begin at noon at the plant at 206 West Railroad Avenue in Odessa. In addition to Newhouse, other state agency officials, legislators and agricultural community leaders are expected to attend.

IEO produces biodiesel using oil crushed from Washington-grown canola seeds. Founded in 2006, it began refining biodiesel in November. But until the installation of its crushing machine this month, it bought canola oil from crushing plants in Sunnyside and Touchet for processing in Odessa.

“With the addition of the crusher, IEO becomes the first biodiesel company in Washington to fully integrate all production steps into one place – from crushing to rail tank car,” said Steve Starr, company general manager.

“Our new crush line reduces production costs. That results in savings we can pass on to our customers. Those savings, plus the recent rise in oil prices, make our biodiesel more competitive than ever with petroleum-based diesel.”

Starr said that because the company has taken advantage of existing infrastructure and carefully managed its equipment procurement costs, IEO also has a lower capital cost per gallon than its competitors.

IEO’s crushing and refining facility is housed in a 28,000-square-foot preexisting building situated next to a grain elevator and a 26-car rail siding that adjoins the Burlington Northern Santa Fe mainline. IEO also recently added 60,000 gallons of storage to better manage deliveries as demand has grown. IEO’s annual production capacity is eight million gallons.

“The fact that we process canola grown in our local region and ship our biodiesel, as well as our high protein meal, to customers in Washington and Oregon not only keeps our costs low, but it also reduces the carbon footprint of our product,” said Starr.

IEO was founded in response to a bill signed into law by Gov. Chris Gregoire in 2006 that was intended to spur the production of Washington-made alternative fuels to create green jobs, lower vehicle emissions, encourage in-state oilseed production and decrease dependence on foreign oil.

Odessa Union Warehouse and Reardan Grain Growers (two large, well capitalized eastern Washington farm cooperatives) own the majority of IEO’s stock. Other stockholders include Reardan Seed Co., Green Star Products Inc. and Avista Development. IEO has invested $11 million in its plant, including a $4.3 million low-interest loan from the state’s Energy Freedom Fund.