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Biodiesel plant coming to Claiborne A new industry that will manufacture eco-friendly biodiesel fuel is coming to Monroe County. Parsons & Whittemore (P&W), a privately held company based in New York, announced recently that it will build a biodiesel refinery at Claiborne, where it also owns and operates the Alabama River and Alabama Pine pulp mills. The new biodiesel company, known as Independence Renewable Energy Corporation, will utilize state-of-the-art technology to initially produce 20 million gallons of biodiesel annually, according to P&W spokesperson Peggy Jaye. The primary base or feedstock for the plant will initially be soybean oil, although the facility design provides the flexibility for expansion as well as the use of alternate feedstocks. Regional soybean oil sources should find favor due to lower delivery costs. Construction on the refinery will begin immediately and production is expected to start in the first quarter of 2007. Plans are underway to double the capacity of the facility as soon as the quality of its output meets all required standards. Jaye said no details about the privately financed project's costs or hiring plans are being publicized. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel that can be made from a variety of vegetable oils and animal fats and is used in conventional diesel engines in various blends with petroleum diesel fuel. The Claiborne refinery's biodiesel will be sold to local distributors and blenders and mixed with petroleum to make different grades for end-users. "High oil prices driven by strong global demand for petroleum and the national fervor for independence from foreign petroleum are providing the impetus for alternative fuel development," stated Jaye. She added, "Many states are mandating that a percentage of this eco-friendly fuel is blended into all petroleum-based diesel fuel." Biodiesel offers comparable operating performance while reducing greenhouse gas and toxic emissions associated with petroleum diesel. P&W's investment in this biodiesel refinery is supportive of the national Energy Policy Act of 2005, which promotes the development of alternative fuels.
Parsons & Whittemore Chairman George F. Landegger received a citation at last week's Clinton Global Initiative Conference in New York for his company's plans to build this plant to combat global warming and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Likewise, Alabama Governor Bob Riley, on being advised about the biodiesel project, stated that it is in keeping with his legislative initiatives to further production and use of renewable energy.
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