BioFuels Journal

Larkspur, CA—Greenline Industries, provider of clean-tech energy platforms, announced Dec. 2 that SunPower BioDiesel of Cumberland, WI has chosen Greenline's waterless biodiesel platform.

Greenline's biodiesel platform allows SunPower to produce biodiesel on a smaller scale, supplying local distributors in a 200 mile radius.

Benefits to the community include engineering and manufacturing jobs, a new market for oil seed crops, and clean burning, sustainable biodiesel to burn in local fleets and farming equipment.

"SunPower's biodiesel plant is really a community effort," said Rick Wuorenma, Operations Manager of SunPower BioDiesel.

"The Greenline platform's feedstock neutrality and smaller scale production meet our needs to utilize local farm products, such as canola, as source oil feedstock and keep distribution local to Wisconsin and nearby Minnesota."

The ability for Greenline's waterless biodiesel platform to not only produce smaller quantities, but to also run at full or half capacity as well as quick start-up and shutdown were major factors in SunPower's choice.

Utilization of any source oil feedstock also influenced the decision. Locally grown canola works well in Wisconsin because it thrives as a cold weather crop and the resulting biodiesel has higher cold-flow properties.

SunPower BioDiesel is keeping distribution local to Wisconsin and Minnesota, helping to meet the Minnesota mandate of two percent biodiesel in every gallon of on-road diesel.

Long-time Cumberland residents and owners of SunPower BioDiesel, Ron and Mark Ruppel, also chose Greenline for environmental reasons.

"The owners of SunPower BioDiesel have been in Cumberland for generations," said Wuorenma.

"In addition to the biodiesel plant, the Ruppels are local farmers and manufacturers of durable goods.

"In each of their businesses, they look for ways to utilize environmentally friendly practices, such as factory heating stoves that burn cherry pits and waste corn collected from cleaning silos.

"The environmentally friendly nature of the waterless biodiesel process means no toxic waste water and no water used in the wash process -- both important factors in the decision to use Greenline."

SunPower wanted proven technology, so the fact that Greenline Industries has a global install base put them on the short list.

Greenline's proof of concept process allowed SunPower to test the platform at full and half capacity with the result being in-spec ASTM quality biodiesel.

"We wanted proven technology and that's what we found," said Wuorenma.

"We are pleased to work with visionaries like the Ruppels and Rick Wuorenma," said Michael Brown, CEO of Greenline Industries.

"They represent the new generation of entrepreneurs who take into account renewable energy solutions for sustainability of their own businesses and the community surrounding them."

For more information, call 415-526-7600.

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• Greenline Industries

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