Chevron Technology Ventures, a division of Chevron USA, and BioSelect Fuels LLC today unveiled their new biodiesel plant. The new plant, located in Galveston, Texas, is one of the first large-scale biodiesel production facilities in North America and is now producing clean-burning biodiesel from renewable resources.
The facility will initially produce 20 million gallons of biodiesel per year and has the capability to expand operations to produce 110 million gallons per year from soybeans and other renewable feedstocks. The biodiesel will be sold to the marine, commercial, trucking and industrial markets for use as pure biodiesel or biodiesel blended with off-road or on-road diesel. The facility has multiple transportation options due to its rail, barge and deep water access and is located in the heart of the U.S. energy infrastructure.
BioSelect is targeting aggressive expansion plans across multiple large-scale sites nationwide, with plans for capacity of 470 million annual gallons by 2010.
About Biodiesel
Biodiesel is a clean-burning, biodegradable and renewable fuel made from a variety of feedstocks. According to the National Biodiesel Board, U.S. biodiesel production more than doubled last year to an estimated 225 million gallons. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that biodiesel could account for 10 percent of the U.S. petroleum diesel market by 2015. The U.S. diesel and distillate market was 60 billion gallons in 2005.
Key Benefits Of Biodiesel:
- It can be transported through traditional fuel pipelines.
- Biodiesel can be used in most diesel engines with little or no modification. Many leading automotive manufactures have approved B20 in their commercial, military and government vehicles.
- Biodiesel has a lubricity improvement over petroleum diesel fuel, leading to extended engine life.
- Rapidly expanding availability, with over 700 current retail sources.
