Can biodiesel compete on price?: Business & Technology: The Seattle Times

Can biodiesel compete on price?: Business & Technology: The Seattle Times: "Can biodiesel compete on price? By Luke Timmerman | Seattle Times business reporter.

ERIC MARTIN / IMPERIUM RENEWABLES

Imperium Renewables is building a biodiesel refinery at the Port of Grays Harbor, which will be the largest such U.S. plant. Some people like biodiesel because it is renewable and pollutes less than regular diesel fuel. Others are intrigued by its potential to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. That political and environmental allure has generated plenty of buzz this year.

What no one has demonstrated yet is whether biodiesel, as a business, can compete on the key factor for many consumers — price.

Imperium Renewables, a Seattle-based startup, has been obsessing over a business model it believes can beat regular diesel at the pump. The company says biodiesel can win at what it calls the 'triple bottom line' of environmental, political and economic benefits.

The strategy relies on economies of scale. Imperium is building the nation's largest biodiesel refinery at the Port of Grays Harbor on the Washington coast, capable of supplying 100 million gallons a year — one-tenth of all..."