Portland revs up as engine for biodiesel
BYLINE: Ryan Frank, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.
Mar. 19--City Commissioner Randy Leonard stumps across Oregon to pump up Portland as a regional biodiesel hub.
Leonard says biodiesel can disconnect this liberal bastion from foreign oil, offering a green alternative that's good for Oregon farmers.
And Portland has competitive advantages for biofuel makers and politicians. Oregon has just one biodiesel plant, a small one in Salem, but 20 biodiesel or ethanol firms have poked around Portland for a site.
"It's a grass-roots Willie Nelson propellant that creates jobs in America," the former firefighter, who pays $3.29 a gallon to fill his Jeep Liberty, says of the country star with his own BioWillie blend. "Why not have that be centered here in Portland?"
But Leonard hit a very un-green roadblock: Two of the three prime spots are too polluted. "We would have one or two of those concerns signed on, were it not for the Superfund," Leonard said.
The Arkema Inc. property in Northwest Portland and the Time Oil property in North Portland have the right amenities, but both are tied up in years of investigations and cleanups through the Willamette River's federal Superfund status.
Leonard's biodiesel initiative comes as politicians in Portland and Salem try to drive an Earth-friendly agenda that cuts greenhouse gas emissions, reduces dependence on foreign oil and attracts sustainable employers.
California has been a leader in the next-generation green movement. Oregon, which has colored itself green since the 1970s bottle bill, is playing catch up.
This year, Gov. Ted Kulongoski turned sustainability into his legacy issue, signaling he wants Oregon to be the clean energy capital of the nation. In response, the Legislature is working on new tax credits to encourage farmers to grow crops, such as canola, that can be turned into biodiesel.
Leonard brought biodiesel to City Hall after gas price run-ups in 2005. Or, as Leonard calls it: "The price gouge."
Oil companies' "greed to make money was the turning point to talk about biodiesel," Leonard said.
"The climate was right. People were thirsting for answers."
That year, the National Biodiesel Board estimates, the amount of U.S.-produced biodiesel hit 75 million gallons, up from 500,000 gallons in 1999.
To push his plan, Leonard trekked to Eastern Oregon last year to encourage farmers to grow canola to fuel a Portland plant and, eventually, the city's cars and trucks.
Biodiesel is made from oils created by crushing vegetable crops, such as canola. The oils often are blended with petroleum diesel and can power any diesel engine. Biodiesel already powers diesel fleets such as Leonard's water bureau, city garbage haulers and area hospitals.
Biodiesel makers like Portland because it's near potential retailers and transportation networks that help reach more outlets, said Pam Neal, the city's lead sustainable industry recruiter.
For the big plants, an ideal site covers 10 to 15 acres with direct routes to a railroad and dock. A 2004 city survey turned up just three sites that fit the criteria. The biodiesel makers hit Superfund with two.
The 32-acre Arkema site is all but off-limits for at least five years.
For decades, chemical manufacturers dumped, piped and leaked poisonous DDT, rocket fuel, ammonia and hydrochloric acid into the ground. The chemicals now push their way through the groundwater and into the river.
"Arkema is the worst of the worst along the Willamette," said Sean Sheldrake, the Environmental Protection Agency's Arkema project manager.
Time Oil isn't as bad, but it's still a challenge. The 45-acre property includes spots of underground contamination from gasoline, diesel and pentachlorophenol -- a wood preservative for utility poles.
Both sites are wrapped in uncertainty because they fall under city, state and federal regulations.
No one knows what the cleanups will cost, how much land they might require, when they could be done or who will pay.
"If you have a dock that's got contamination under it, how do you clean up the contamination?" said Seth Hudson, a city economic development manager. "Do you remove a dock? If you do, can you get the dock put back in?"
That's proved to be too much to worry about for someone who's about to plunk down $30 million or more for a big plant.
Hudson has listened to the conflict play out between biodiesel makers and property owners. "We get to the same point every time," Hudson said. "Price, liability protection for both parties and nobody knows."
A third potential site, the Linnton plywood mill in Northwest Portland, has fewer environmental problems, but Neal said the riverfront would need to be dredged to fit an oceangoing barge. The site also comes with political baggage that might be as imposing as the contamination.
Last year, the City Council quashed neighbors' long-held plans for riverfront housing. Now, residents object to adding biodiesel to the existing gas tank farms on their riverfront.
With Portland's sites tied up, some companies moved on.
The ports of Morrow and Arlington in Eastern Oregon and St. Helens in northwest Oregon and Longview, Wash., have attracted their interest.
"Those are clean sites," Neal said.
Today, Hudson and Neal search for other ways to bring biodiesel to Portland. Five companies still show interest.
Neal is working on a partnership between a biodiesel maker and an existing Portland business that might lease it land. Hudson is in talks with state and federal regulators to find ways to redevelop the sites while the cleanups continue.
"We've got the interest," Hudson said. "The catch is always, can you have the site ready when the economy is going."
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