By Rachael Myer GILBERT – After cooking a batch of French fries or a juicy turkey, many people mindlessly dump the used cooking oil down the drain. But a Gilbert company that turns waste into biodiesel fuel that helps to clean the air. AZ BioDiesel has been turning oil into organic diesel fuel since 2008. The plant can turn a number of different types of oil - from vegetable to soybean - and even animal fat into fuel. The company partners with the Town of Gilbert’s “Turkey Grease Drive” during the holiday season to encourage restaurants and residents to drop off used cooking oil. AZ BioDiesel also accepts oil all year long. “Our model as a biodiesel business was to only utilize local resources as much as available to us,” said Dan Rees, AZ BioDiesel president. In fact, demand has increased so much that the company wants to soon open a 10 million gallon operation nearby at 1980 W. Commerce. The new plant would be capable of producing up to 30 million gallons a year. Currently, AZ BioDiesel can make 500,000 gallons at the existing $1.2 million Gilbert plant, 721 N. Monterey. AZ BioDiesel would use the new $3 million facility, which could be operational in July, to produce enough biodiesel to sell at gas stations around Greater Phoenix and to fuel semi-trucks. The company also hopes to sell to utility companies. However, AZ BioDiesel’s growth is in jeopardy because it needs Congress to extend the biodiesel tax credit which gives biodiesel companies a $1 per gallon credit. Rees estimates his company has lost about $75,000 this year since the tax credit expired at the end of 2009. “We’re sweating bullets right now,” he said. When operational, the new facility could access train to transport the fuel to other areas in Arizona. AZ BioDiesel’s owners also would like to open facilities in two other states. The company has a new venture capitalist investor. The biodiesel industry nationwide took off in 2004 with the help of the tax credit, Rees said. In the five years since its enactment, the tax credit has resulted in the construction of over 150 renewable refineries in 44 states and 23,000 jobs, according to the National Biodiesel Board in Washington, D.C. Rees has worked with the national organization to send out 2,000 letters to Congress and federal agencies. He is concerned that Congress will focus on summer vacations and the election season if the tax credit is not renewed soon. “Do we just pollute ourselves to death or do we get subsidies so people can afford to use the alternative things,” Rees said. Gilbert Mayor John Lewis wants the company to expand in his town. AZ BioDiesel fits in well with Gilbert’s renewable energy focus and other innovative companies, the mayor said. He hopes Congress helps find a way to help AZ BioDiesel. “We are very supportive and hopeful that everything works out for them,” Lewis said. Biodiesel is good for the environment and is cost effective, Rees said. “To me, biodiesel is the right thing to do as well as it’s a business opportunity,” Rees said. Per gallon, biodiesel fuel is generally about 30 cents cheaper than regular diesel fuel and it emits less carbon dioxide. Any diesel-operated vehicle can use biodiesel fuel. Processing reclaimed oil into biodiesel fuel is relatively simple. The Rees family started their business after one of Dan’s sons made the alternative fuel for personal use. The refining process creates a reaction between the oil and an alcohol to remove glycerin, which is the only byproduct of biodiesel. About 90 to 95 percent of the oil can be reclaimed as biodiesel fuel, which it sells to about 1,000 companies, although farmers and individuals make up about 80 percent of the customers. The glycerin is turned over to Mesa’s for use in water treatment, and to a dust abatement company. Kokopelli Golf Club, an 18-hole course in Gilbert, purchases the fuel to use in tractors and mowers. “As a company, we are making a strong push to operate as green as possible,” said Seth Koch, the club’s superintendent. Stellar Adventures, an off-road desert tour company in Phoenix, has found that the fuel appeals to corporate meeting planners who have green initiatives. The company uses AZ BioDiesel’s fuel for its Hummers, trucks and vans, which pick up hotel guests in Greater Phoenix for views of Saguaro Lake. “We take these Hummers out to the middle of the Sonoran Desert. We get the guests out there and learn about the desert,” said J.J. Briles, the owner. “It’s nice to go out and limit our impact.” Gene Stanley, who lives in east Mesa, recently filled up his personal Dodge pick-up truck at AZ BioDiesel. “It doesn’t stink like regular diesel,” he said. In addition, the motor is quieter, the fuel increases his gas mileage, and the biodiesel cleans out the injectors, he said. |
