Biodiesel Growing in Seattle

The Seattle P-I has a story about the local Seattle Biodiesel refinery's plans for expansion, thanks to $7.5 million in venture capital financing...

...which brings total financing in the 2-year-old company to $9.5 million, is among the largest for a U.S. producer of biodiesel fuels, [chief executive Martin] Tobias said.

[...]

The recent financing will be used for expansion, with plans to open a new biodiesel refinery and canola-crushing oil facility this summer. Tobias declined to comment on the new plant's location or size, though he said it would be significantly larger than the company's 5 million-gallon Seattle facility.

"Demand is so high that we still have not been able to meet it with our current facility," Tobias said. Seattle Biodiesel signed a deal last month to provide up to 1 million gallons of biodiesel to the Port of Seattle and SSA Marine. Other customers include Associated Petroleum, Pettit Oil and Seaport Petroleum.

[...]

By shifting to locally produced canola oil, Tobias hopes to get a better handle on costs and help Washington farmers discover a new cash crop. He added that canola oil provides a higher grade of fuel than what is derived from soybeans.