Whole Energy Fuels Corp. is constructing a new biodiesel distribution terminal in the heart of northwest Portland, Oregon, the company said in a news release earlier this month.
The new terminal will provide service to public fleets, private fleets, and regional fuel distribution customers with biodiesel and fuel blends.
The terminal will recycle cooking oil, according to Whole Energy president Atul Deshmane, while allowing for reduced customer shipping cost and trucking time.
“Vertical integration of biodiesel distribution terminal with biodiesel manufacturing, based on sustainably produced recycled cooking oil, will benefit the City of Portland by reducing the climate impact of fuel use,” she said.
Whole Energy serves end users from Vancouver, Canada to San Diego, California. This project strengthens its presence in Portland by integrating operations with Beaver Biodiesel and Oregon Oils, co-located in the same facility, creating a new industry template for biorefining and distribution, the company said.
Public fleets are continuing to have a difficult time obtaining biodiesel at prices competitive with petroleum diesel, Whole Energy noted. Although regional biodiesel producers have been selling biodiesel at prices that enable a price competitive with fossil fuel diesel, biodiesel fuel blenders and distributors have not been able to pass on the full benefit of that price to end users.
“The Whole Energy Portland terminal will reduce the total life cycle cost of providing biodiesel in a sustainable business model that employs vertical integration of raw materials, manufacturing and distribution,” the company said, adding that Whole Energy will “enable a more transparent market with better end user pricing.”
Portland currently has a B5 mandate, but could implement a B10 mandate if ASTM approves specifications for that blend, according to Daniel Shafer, manager of Beaver Biodiesel adjacent to the planned terminal, said in an email to Telvent DTN last week.
“The city (of Portland) is authorized to implement a B10 mandate,” Shafer explained. “At this time, ASTM did not have a published specification on how to measure the concentration above B5. This lapse in standards provided an opening for the major fuel distributors to object to implementation of B10.”