The first step toward a possible biodiesel production facility at the Port of Redwood City was taken Wednesday (April 23) when the Board of Port Commissioners issued a contract for an environmental impact report.
Renewable Energy Products, LLC (REP), a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Merchant Corp., is developing biodiesel production facilities at strategic locations throughout the United States with an initial emphasis on California. REP, having received all required permits, is under full construction of a 10 million gallon per year biodiesel production facility in Santa Fe Springs, CA. Production of biodiesel fuel is scheduled to begin in a few weeks.
The Port of Redwood City will contract with the engineering and environmental consulting firm of TEC, Inc., Solana Beach, CA to perform the environmental review and other studies associated with the proposed biodiesel production facility to be located on a 4.4 acre site on which the Texaco liquid bulk terminal was previously situated. The studies will include evaluations of the impact of the biodiesel facility on air quality, traffic, and noise. REP, as the proponent for the project, will reimburse the Port for all necessary environmental studies.
“With a declining curve in global oil reserves and continued volatility and uncertainty in energy markets, domestic fuel prices likely will continue to rise well into the future,” said William Duplissea, a former area state assemblyman whose Sacramento legislative firm Cline-Duplissea represents REP. “This rise will bring a continued and stronger movement for renewable fuels as well as a need for new innovative energy risk management programs specifically tailored to individual client's needs. To this end, Energy Merchant Corp. recently formed Renewable Energy Products, LLC with a primary focus as a biofuels production & marketing company.”
Duplissea explained that the finished biodiesel product will be marketed to diesel fuel customers who are looking to utilize the green product for various applications (most frequently to be blended with diesel fuel). The crude glycerin produced as a co-product in the production process will be sold for use in multiple sectors.
Port Executive Director Michael Giari said the proposed project will bring a new “green” industrial use to the Port, provided that it clears environmental and other approval hurdles in the upcoming months. A brief description of the scope of the project includes:
- The new facility will include processing equipment, new storage tanks and a building which will house a control room, office and laboratory. The facility will be planned to make use of an adjacent rail line, an existing marine wharf, and a newly constructed truck loading rack.
- REP will utilize approximately 2,000 square feet of land at the site to pour a reinforced concrete slab foundation on which to place the production equipment. New storage tanks with a capacity aggregating approximately 60,000 barrels will be constructed. There still exist foundations from the former storage tanks which were on the property. REP will attempt to utilize these foundations for some of the tanks they will construct. The tanks may store any or all of the following: vegetable oils, animal fats, yellow grease, methanol, methylate, diesel fuel, crude glycerin, and biodiesel fuel. Most of these tanks will be insulated and heated.
- REP will also construct a two bay bottom loading truck loading/offloading rack to be placed on a paved area with adequate turning radius for tanker trucks. REP will tie into the existing Wharf 5 at the Port via two pipelines one for feedstock and the other for biodiesel. These lines will be multidirectional to and from the Wharf and REP’s storage tanks.
- The final piece of construction will be a spur track off the rail line at the Port onto the parcel with storage for multiple rail cars which will discharge and load utilizing common infrastructure from the truck loading rack.