Area may get largest biofuel plant in U.S.

By Evan Caldwell

The Daily News — Oct 18, 2005 - 08:20:13 am PDT

The Longview area might be the site of one of the nation's largest biofuel plants.

Delaware-based Chemical Consortium Holdings Corp., with offices in Bellingham, announced on Monday plans to build an alternative fuels project estimated to produce 30 million gallons of biofuel per year. Biofuel is an alternative renewable fuel from fresh or waste vegetable oils for uses such as automotive fuel.

Chemical Consortium --- or ChemCon --- CEO Dr. J. Greig said groundbreaking could be as soon as six to eight months away.

The plant would create about 20 family-wage jobs and about 200 construction jobs during the first year of building, said Greig, 36, who grew up in Longview.

The exact site for the nonpolluting plant has not yet been disclosed, but Greig said "it will be in the Cowlitz County-Longview area."

The cost of the project also was not released, but Greig said the company's "financing capability is very good."

"There are three benefits to the environmental impact: it's not going to add to the air pollution, not going to tax the water treatment system and it will (enable) local distributors to open," Greig said.

Biofuels cost is similar to gas at the pump and allows for better milage on cars, he said.

ChemCon announced it is in the negotiation stage to build a new biofuels plant in Longview that will give it the capability of processing its own chemical products. The plant, which will be built in several phases, will be comprised of two buildings and approximately five acres of land. The equipment will be housed within one 18,000-square-foot building and one 15,000-square-foot warehouse.

Greig said the company was looking for a site in Southwest Washington for proximity to railroads and "the skilled workforce in the area."

The plant is planned to be a copy of one in operation in Germany, where the company has previously done business, Greig said.

"It will be the largest refinery in Western U.S., unless someone else builds a bigger one between then and now," he said. Archer Daniels Midland Co. has announced plans to build a biofuels plant in North Dakota capable of producing 50 million gallons per year.

There are 17 biofuel plants in the nation, some producing upward of 10 million gallons per year.

The Longview project, dubbed NorthWest Biofuels, is nearing the end of the pre-engineering stage. When that's finished, the engineering and procurement contracting process will begin and last through the end of the year.

"We created this company specifically for this project," Greig said.

The construction process is estimated to take 10 months to start up and 13 months to full operation. Memphis, Tenn.,-based biodiesel plant builder Lurgi, PSI is scheduled to construct and engineer the plant. Lurgi also will work for one year training staff and management. However, ChemCon has not signed a contract with Lurgi; the two companies have only exchanged letters of intent and a pre-engineering contract.

ChemCon has transitioned from the pulp and paper chemical industry into the alternative energy and synthetic fuels industry. ChemCon will focus on the top five alternative fuels --- bioethanol, biodiesel, methanol, hydrogen and liquid natural gas --- through the construction or acquisition of manufacturing capability.

Greig would not disclose the location of the proposed plant.

Ken O'Hollaren, Port of Longview executive director, said he could only confirm that there is a biofuels company looking at port property but no deals have been made.

"It's still in the early stages," O'Hollaren said. "There's been a lot of interest in the area over the years for biofuels."

O'Hollaren said he is under a confidentiality agreement to not disclose the name of the company.

Longview City Manager Bob Gregory said he has only talked to ChemCon about Mint Farm property, nothing further.