OAK RIDGE NORTH — Chicken fat and a $3.5 million investment are behind a breakthrough in the way Texans heat, cool and light their homes and offices.
Using the slimy, light-colored tallow as the source for clean-burning biodiesel, Biofuels Power Corp. flipped the switch on three 2,000-horsepower diesel engines a couple of weeks ago, adding a bit more energy to the massive grid that powers much of the Lone Star State.
Privately held Biofuels Power and others in the renewable energy business say the plant is the first of its kind to produce power for sale on the open market using only biodiesel, a petroleum-free alternative fuel made from plant oils such as cottonseed and animal fat — in this case, chicken fat.
The National Biodiesel Board, a nonprofit trade association, says it knows of no other plant that runs entirely on biodiesel, which can be used in any conventional diesel engine. A local congressman, Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Stafford, cited the fledgling company for its groundbreaking venture.
By year's end, Biofuels Power, based in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands, says it hopes to finish a second, larger biodiesel- fueled plant to produce green power for Entergy Corp. customers in parts of East Texas and Louisiana.
"This is simply one way to deliver renewable power to people," said Ken Crimmins, Biofuels Power's chief operating officer. "People are afraid of something new, but they're not afraid to turn on their light switch. Flip the switch; there's your renewable power. The electrons don't care how they're made."
Biofuels are seen as a way to reduce harmful emissions and wean Americans and the rest of the world off fossil fuels. President Bush has proposed ramping up production of such alternative fuels, like those used in some vehicles, but for now they account for an extremely small percentage of the world's fuel market.
Renewable energy sources — biofuels, wind and solar among them — supply only about 6 percent of America's energy needs, according to the federal government's Energy Information Administration. That figure is expected to grow only to about 7 percent in the next 20 years, meaning fossil fuels will still carry the bulk of the load.
For now, Biofuels Power's contribution to Texas' energy supply is a mere blip. Its new plant in Oak Ridge North, about 20 miles north of Houston, has the capacity to generate 5 megawatts of power. Crimmins said that translates into roughly enough juice to power 3,500 homes, though the number can vary widely depending on the size of the home and the time of day and year.
Appropriately, the operation itself is small — and probably not one that could have arisen anywhere.
Tommy Mann, who helps lead Accenture Ltd.'s energy industry group, said that one of the big challenges for any biofuel outfit is finding a feedstock supply that not only is abundant and cost-effective but is also near enough to avoid high shipping costs.
That's certainly the case for Biofuels Power and its partner in the project, privately held Safe Renewables Corp., which produces the biodiesel at a plant in nearby Conroe.
Crimmins said Safe Renewables is within 200 miles of four or five chicken rendering operations. Richard DeGarmo, Safe Renewables' senior vice president, said the cost of chicken fat varies depending on the season, but it usually sells for 15 cents to 22 cents a pound.
What's more, Biofuels Power's entry into the market comes at a time when Texas is in dire need of more power supplies and as the state encourages greater diversity of energy sources. And it's found a city that couldn't be happier to have such an innovative project in its midst.
"We're a very progressive city," Oak Ridge North Mayor Fred O'Connor said. "We like progressive things."
The project hatched a few years ago and has about 140 investors, including a group of commodity traders at the Chicago Board of Trade, Crimmins said.
They've raised about $10 million, including an initial $3.5 million for the Oak Ridge North plant. Much of the remainder will be used to fund the second plant.
"It sounds like a lot of things have fallen into place for them," Mann said.