In the news

At a time when much of the U.S. biodiesel industry is in turmoil and slashing production, a small biodiesel producer in Seattle is making plans for expansion.

General Biodiesel Inc., which acquired a plant in Seattle’s Sodo district last summer, expects to produce 3 million to 5 million gallons of biodiesel this year and reach up to 10 million gallons by 2011. The company plans to nearly double its staff to 40 people, move to round-the-clock shifts, and add three more trucks to its current fleet of six.

General Biodiesel’s business model — making biodiesel out of used cooking grease it collects directly from restaurants and serving a mostly local customer base — has in some ways insulated it against the meltdown in the larger biodiesel industry. The sector has been clobbered by, among other things, rising commodity prices on vegetable oils used to produce biodiesel and the expiration of a key federal biodiesel tax credit.

In a broader sense, General Biodiesel’s experience may point the way to a more stable business model for the industry. The Seattle company’s survival suggests that more modest biofuel operations that have a local footprint and can control the cost and availability of their raw materials have advantages over larger-scale projects that rely on global commodity markets and shifting federal policies.