February 21, 2007 12:30 PM PST

Biodiesel start-up hauls in $214 million

Related Stories

Fast-food fat: Future fuel for cars

February 8, 2007

FAQ: Guide to alternative fuels

February 1, 2007
Seattle-based biodiesel maker Imperium Renewables announced on Wednesday that its Series B financing round has roped in a total of $214 million, a possible record for the American biodiesel industry.

The investment comes from two sources: $113 million of private equity and $101 million from a senior secured credit facility that will be arranged by Societe Generale. According to a statement from Imperium, the funding is believed to be the United States' largest-ever private-equity investment in a biodiesel company.

Imperium plans to use the money invested for opening new biodiesel plants around the world, including in Hawaii and in northeastern states. Meanwhile, the company is continuing construction of its Port of Grays Harbor plant in coastal Washington; it expects to finish building the facility in July.

Cumulatively, the Grays Harbor plant and three other planned Imperium facilities are expected to optimally generate up to 400 million gallons (10 million barrels) of biodiesel per year by the end of 2008. The Washington plant alone will be capable of up to 100 million gallons per year, which will make it the largest biodiesel facility in the country.

Biodiesel, which is fuel created from vegetable oils--including, potentially, the residual fat and oil from fast-food restaurants--is a hot topic these days with all the talk of a need for renewable, clean-burning energy sources.

Currently, Imperium and subsidiary Seattle Biodiesel already operate refineries that produce biodiesel out of farm-grown crops like soy and palm oil.

See more CNET content tagged:
biodiesel, facility, Seattle, Washington

Add a Comment (Log in or register) 13 comments
Interesting
by Remo_Williams February 21, 2007 1:45 PM PST
The US consumes appx 150 million barrels of oil per year. Even a generous rounding would allow the US to replace 70 million barrels using biodiesel; the rounding is to signify the loss of energy from biodiesel to crude oil.

-R
Reply to this comment View all 2 replies
Encouraging story
by sudokuscore February 21, 2007 2:16 PM PST
It was only yesterday I had a lengthy discussion regarding raising capital from US for an Indian company planning to set up a bio diesel plant there. They are planning to use Jatropha curcas seeds to be grown in waste land.
US being the trend setter , this is indeed good news.
They are projecting a very decent ROI. If any one knows of any profit making bio diesel refuneries please share info.
My mail id vin@sudokuscore.com
Reply to this comment
Encouraging story
by sudokuscore February 21, 2007 2:16 PM PST
It was only yesterday I had a lengthy discussion regarding raising capital from US for an Indian company planning to set up a bio diesel plant there. They are planning to use Jatropha curcas seeds to be grown in waste land.
US being the trend setter , this is indeed good news.
They are projecting a very decent ROI. If any one knows of any profit making bio diesel refuneries please share info.
My mail id vin AT sudokuscore.com
Reply to this comment
Encouraging story
by sudokuscore February 21, 2007 2:17 PM PST
It was only yesterday I had a lengthy discussion regarding raising capital from US for an Indian company planning to set up a bio diesel plant there. They are planning to use Jatropha curcas seeds to be grown in waste land.
US being the trend setter , this is indeed good news.
They are projecting a very decent ROI. If any one knows of any profit making bio diesel refineries please share info.
vin AT sudokuscore.com
Reply to this comment
this is crap, but..
by dondarko February 21, 2007 2:25 PM PST
on the other hand check this company out that I just found about today http://steorn.com/orbo/ . Apparently they make electricity through using magnetism to spin around electron then stopping it and harnessing its momentum energy.
Reply to this comment View all 2 replies
Powered by Jive Software
advertisement

Latest tech news headlines

Resource center from News.com sponsors
Same great protection. Reengineered for speed.
Norton Internet Security™2008

Click Here!
Norton still delivers award-winning protection and now uses 83% less memory and scans 48% faster than the competitor average. Get a FREE trial today!

Click Here!
Norton Beats the Competition

See how Norton Internet Security™2008 uses less memory, while scanning and booting faster than the competitor average.

Norton Protection Blog

Read the latest from our security experts as they help protect people from evolving online threats.

Protect Your Bluetooth Connection

Don't let fraudsters sink their teeth into your Bluetooth connection.

Vishing - What you need to know

Meet the latest ID theft scam: Voice Phishing.

Take Norton for a Test Drive Today!

Act now to get your FREE trial of Norton Internet Security 2008.

RSS Feeds

Add headlines from CNET News to your homepage or feedreader.

More feeds available in our RSS feed index.

advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right
  • Nanotech: The Circuits Blog

    Intel ships low-power chips for servers

    New server chips from processor giant draw as little as 12.5 watts per core.

  • Gallery

    Photos: Top 10 reviews of the week

    Here are CNET Reviews' 10 favorite items from the past week, including the TiVo HD XL, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50, and the Dish Network's newest digital TV converter box.

  • News - Apple

    Apple watchers spot 'iPod Nano' pix, iTunes hints

    The rumor mill has long been predicting a longer, leaner new version of the iPod Nano, and now it's conjuring up some pictures.

  • Coop's Corner

    Chris Shipley 1, Internet lynch mob 0

    Demo's impresario goes public with a tart and smartly written riposte to the shoot-from-the-lip crowd.

  • Video

    Katie Couric reflects on first Webcast

    The political conventions are over and so are CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric's first series of Webcasts. CNET's Kara Tsuboi sat down with Couric on the final night of the Republican National Convention to discuss what she liked about Webcasting, some of her most memorable guests, and whether TV news will still be around by the next round of conventions.

  • Webware

    Google upgrades Gmail for IE 6 users

    The online e-mail application is faster for those using the 7-year-old browser and gets features already available to more modern browsers, Google said.

  • Video

    YouTube plays party politics

    During the presidential campaigning four years ago, YouTube didn't even exist. Now it's a tool candidates must master to get their message across. CNET's Kara Tsuboi stops by the YouTube upload booths at the Democratic and Republican conventions to find out why Google's video site has such a big presence in Denver and St. Paul, Minn.

  • News - Gaming and Culture

    Are Demo and TechCrunch50 fragmenting their audiences?

    With both events scheduled to start Monday, many press, as well as venture capitalists and others are having to choose which one to attend.

  • News - Cutting Edge

    Execs predict next Google-like tech

    On eve of company's 10-year anniversary, researchers and business pundits speculate about what technologies might someday have as much impact as Google.

  • Gallery

    Images: The art of 'Spore' prototypes

    Will Wright and his Maxis team worked on dozens of prototypes to test the elements of their soon-to-be-released evolution game. Here's a sampling.

  • Crave

    DVD ripping goes legit with RealDVD

    Real's RealDVD software lets you rip DVDs to your PC hard drive--legally--and watch them on up to 4 other PCs.

  • Green Tech

    TI does energy efficiency on a chip

    Its line of Piccolo microcontrollers can reduce power consumption significantly of home appliances, hybrid cars, LED lighting, and even solar panels.