Delray Beach biofuels company expanding biodiesel production
Posted By RichC on July 1, 2009
According to Palm Beach Post reporter Susan Salisbury, the biofuel company Ag-Oil is planning to build a biodiesel production facility in the Agricultrual Reserve west of Delray Beach Florida. (MP3 Audio — really just testing for my Palm Pre) The facility has the potential to produce 15 million gallons of biodiesel each year from jatropha, algae and other oils. According to the south Florida company CEO Teri Gevinson, they have already planted 20 acres in jatropha.
The company, the recipient of a $2.5 million state renewable energy grant, is working with United Environment and Energy, Horseheads, N.Y.; Argonne National Laboratory, a federal energy lab in Argonne, IL., the University of Florida and the University of Southern Illinois. It has also applied for federal American Recovery and Investment Act funds.
Once completed and operational sometime in 2011, the facility and plantation on 103 acres will maintain an estimated 128 direct jobs and 915 indirect jobs, the company said.
Gevinson, owner of Ascot Development, a Boca Raton-based real estate development firm, said Ag-oil is working with South County farmers to grow the crop and mechanically harvest it.
“We are excited to be able to make something work in the Ag Reserve and to be able to change the U.S. dependence on foreign oil,” she said.
Gevinson said she purchased the land years ago and leased it to farmers who grew tomatoes and peppers there.
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