"Biodiesel firm eyeing site in Jenkins Twp. awarded $1 M
BY NICHOLAS SOHR
STAFF WRITER
10/18/2007
After being awarded a conditional $1 million state grant, a New York company with aims of refining biodiesel from algae in Jenkins Township remains shrouded in mystery.
On Tuesday, Gov. Ed Rendell announced $10 million in grants to 24 projects in an effort to reduce the state’s dependence on foreign oil and develop clean-burning sources of energy.
Binghamton-based Alternative Fuels Inc.’s slice of the funding is contingent on its production of 20 million gallons of biodiesel by the end of 2008 at the former Techneglas plant, now called the Interstate Distribution Center, said state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Charles Young.
According to the grant application Alternative Fuels filed with DEP, its facility will refine 50 million gallons of biodiesel from algae every year at a cost of 40 cents per gallon.
To produce at such a clip, the plant would need 200 tons of algae daily.
Other than those plans, however, little is known about the company. Some aspects of its hand-written grant application raise questions.
Alternative Fuels CEO Richard Smith could not be reached for comment, and calls to the company were not returned.
CTI Biofuels, a Pittsburgh-based vendor of biofuel production equipment, is listed on the company’s application under the “subcontractors and consultants” section.
When contacted, however, a CTI employee said the company has never heard of Alternative Fuels or the Jenkins Township project and is investigating the connection that was made between the two firms.
The same section lists an unspecified “ASTM certified 3.2 million gallon per year pilot plant” as an example of Smith’s prior biodiesel experience.
But ASTM — formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials — only develops international standards for technical systems. It does not certify biodiesel plants, or anything, said spokeswoman Barbara Schindler.
Alternative Fuel’s assertion is “not quite accurate,” she said.
The application also indicates the refinery project has received significant private financing.
Ban Waste Cooperative, an industry group designed “to facilitate the demand for alternative fuel sources,” according to its Web site, has “stepped forward” with $40 million.
Attempts to reach Ban Waste were unsuccessful.
nsohr@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2052"
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18929986&BRD=2259&PAG=461&dept_id= 455147&rfi=6
With claims like these folks make... they are close to Chairman Ritter status!
BY NICHOLAS SOHR
STAFF WRITER
10/18/2007
After being awarded a conditional $1 million state grant, a New York company with aims of refining biodiesel from algae in Jenkins Township remains shrouded in mystery.
On Tuesday, Gov. Ed Rendell announced $10 million in grants to 24 projects in an effort to reduce the state’s dependence on foreign oil and develop clean-burning sources of energy.
Binghamton-based Alternative Fuels Inc.’s slice of the funding is contingent on its production of 20 million gallons of biodiesel by the end of 2008 at the former Techneglas plant, now called the Interstate Distribution Center, said state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Charles Young.
According to the grant application Alternative Fuels filed with DEP, its facility will refine 50 million gallons of biodiesel from algae every year at a cost of 40 cents per gallon.
To produce at such a clip, the plant would need 200 tons of algae daily.
Other than those plans, however, little is known about the company. Some aspects of its hand-written grant application raise questions.
Alternative Fuels CEO Richard Smith could not be reached for comment, and calls to the company were not returned.
CTI Biofuels, a Pittsburgh-based vendor of biofuel production equipment, is listed on the company’s application under the “subcontractors and consultants” section.
When contacted, however, a CTI employee said the company has never heard of Alternative Fuels or the Jenkins Township project and is investigating the connection that was made between the two firms.
The same section lists an unspecified “ASTM certified 3.2 million gallon per year pilot plant” as an example of Smith’s prior biodiesel experience.
But ASTM — formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials — only develops international standards for technical systems. It does not certify biodiesel plants, or anything, said spokeswoman Barbara Schindler.
Alternative Fuel’s assertion is “not quite accurate,” she said.
The application also indicates the refinery project has received significant private financing.
Ban Waste Cooperative, an industry group designed “to facilitate the demand for alternative fuel sources,” according to its Web site, has “stepped forward” with $40 million.
Attempts to reach Ban Waste were unsuccessful.
nsohr@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2052"
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18929986&BRD=2259&PAG=461&dept_id= 455147&rfi=6
With claims like these folks make... they are close to Chairman Ritter status!
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