Imperium claims that the biodiesel, which will be produced from vegetable oil derived from canola grown in the Northwest, has been shown to reduce carbon emissions by 78% compared to petroleum fuel.
The company said that the fuel will be distributed and consumed within the Pacific Northwest as well, embodying the preferred approach recently recommended by president Obama’s Biofuels Interagency Working Group.
John Plaza, founder and CEO of Imperium, said: “We are thrilled to be producing again. We have replaced the damaged equipment and re-designed the glycerin neutralization system to ensure such a rupture won’t happen again.”
According to the company, demand for biodiesel is increasing both regionally and nationally. Regionally, biodiesel mandates took effect from January 2010 in British Columbia and in 2009 in Oregon.
In February, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its ruling on the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, which mandates the consumption of 1.15 billion gallons of biodiesel nationally in 2010.
Seattle-based Imperium owns and operates a production facility in Grays Harbor County with a nameplate capacity of 100 million gallons per year.
