USDA Funds Washington Biodiesel Hub
[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has granted $3 million to a regional multimodal biodiesel distribution center to ramp up fuel production and distribution to help Washington, Oregon and Idaho farmers meet clean energy needs during peak harvest seasons.
Federal matching funds were awarded to Vancouver, Wash.-based Tidewater Transportation and Terminals Inc. to complete a clean energy transition project creating the new major biodiesel production and distribution hub at its Snake River terminal in Pasco, Wash.
The new biodiesel hub not only will help farmers lower carbon emissions while harvesting wheat, barley and potatoes, but also provide fuel to gas stations for diesel freight trucks and construction equipment. Tidewater also plans to make fuel available to BNSF Railway to reduce its emissions. Once complete, Tidewater will have a dedicated truck bay for biodiesel blending and neat (pure, unblended) biodiesel, plus a biodiesel pipeline serving BNSF’s Pasco rail yard.
With project completion slated for next year, Tidewater will be able to receive neat by railcar, blend more than 2 million gallons of biodiesel per month and offload it to trucks for local deliveries.
A 150% increase in biodiesel demand is expected to arise in Washington and Oregon to support both states’ emission-reduction goals. This year, Washington implemented its Clean Fuel Standard program to cut statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 4.3 million metric tons over the next 15 years. Oregon recently expanded its Clean Fuels Program to make the state’s transportation fuel supplies 20% cleaner by 2030 and 37% cleaner by 2035.
Biodiesel production capacity in 2020 amounted to 112 million gallons in Washington, 17 million gallons in Oregon and none in Idaho, according to the Energy Information Administration. Top feedstock inputs for biodiesel are canola, corn, cottonseed, palm and soybean oils. It also is made with animal fats (white grease), recycled feeds (yellow grease) and alcohol.
Riddle
“We will have the ability to blend biodiesel onsite and distribute through our truck rack. Regional and local distributors, who supply trucking companies, the agriculture industry and everyday consumers, can fill up their tank trucks at our rack and bring the product to fueling stations,” said Jennifer Riddle, Tidewater’s corporate communications and marketing manager.
The largest inland barge company west of the Mississippi River, Tidewater provides barge service from the mouth of the Columbia River at Astoria, Ore., along the entire 465-mile navigable length of the Columbia and Snake rivers, to Lewiston, Idaho. It also operates a network of five strategically located multicommodity marine terminals able to handle a wide range of cargo and intermodal connections.
Tidewater will receive neat biodiesel by railcar, store it in two 400,000-gallon tanks and blend and offload it for delivery through an upgraded and expanded truck rack.
“Since we are still in the contract portion of the grant award process, we are waiting to make additional comments on the project. We hope to break ground in early fall if everything aligns,” Riddle said.
Vilsack
The USDA grant was made through its Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program to market higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel by sharing costs to build and retrofit biofuel-related infrastructure such as pumps, dispensers and storage tanks. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the availability last August of $100 million in grants to increase the sale and use of biofuels derived from U.S. agricultural products.
On March 20, U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell (both Democrats from Washington) jointly announced the grant to Tidewater.
This special "Inside The List" episode features the Transport Topics 2023 Top 100 largest logistics companies. Hear the program above and at RoadSigns.TTNews.com.
Murray noted, “With this funding I helped to secure, biodiesel will be readily available for farmers across eastern Washington and beyond. This is going to lower costs, lower carbon emissions and strengthen the local economy. This is a huge win for the entire Tri-Cities community.”
Another benefit of the new biodiesel hub will be supplying more “homegrown fossil fuel alternatives” to Washington state’s agriculture economy, Cantwell said.
“Increasing regional fuel supplies should also help reduce petroleum diesel prices that have remained at historic highs and cost businesses throughout the region,” she added.
Studies have shown, the senators’ announcement noted, that every 100 million-gallon increase in U.S. biodiesel production creates 3,200 jobs and $780 million in economic opportunity.
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing below or go here for more info:
