How To Make Biodiesel

Dec. 22–As Wilkinson County moves further away from its past with the decline of the kaolin industry, it hopes that alternative fuels will help make up its future. The county officially welcomed Alterra Bioenergy in a ceremony Thursday morning at the company’s new plant in Gordon. Alterra Bioenergy is renovating a building at 200 Tremon St., and the company should be ready to distribute biodiesel fuel by March. “It looks a lot different than it did two weeks ago,” Wilkinson County Economic Development Director Farrah Senn said of the renovations. “By March, they should be ready to distribute fuel, and they should be in full production by September.” Senn said Alterra will employee 10 people in its first phase and up to 25 when it starts producing its own biodiesel. The plant will be capable of producing some 6 million gallons of B-100 biodiesel and distributing 30 million gallons of B-20 blended biodiesel. Alterra Bioenergy was founded by Macon native Wayne Johnson, who has spent more than 20 years in the alternative fuel industry. His ventures over that time have created more than 1,000 jobs, a release from the development authority said. “We are so proud to have them here,” Senn said. “When we were first approached by Wayne Johnson, we knew right from the start he was going to be a great part of our community.” Both the city of Gordon and the county have been looking for ways to augment the local economy with the decline of the kaolin industry in recent years. Kaolin-related industries have made up about 50 percent of the tax base for the city and county. In Georgia, kaolin industry jobs had fallen to less than 2,500 in 2005, down from a peak of 4,500 in 1996, according to the China Clay Producers Association. “Four or five years ago, we started to develop an economic strategy,” said Gordon Mayor Kenneth Turner, who was part of Thursday’s event. “We recognized the decline of the kaolin industry. … One of the areas we had an interest in was biofuel projects in general. “We’ve lost 20 percent of our tax base; we’re more hungry than some other areas are. … When (Johnson) said he wanted to locate here, we were all enthused.” Tremon Street, the location of the new plant, was recently highlighted in Georgia Trend magazine with Wilkinson winning a “County of Excellence” award. The county was facing a $2.6 million tax lien from the Environmental Protection Division in 1997 from environmental damage caused by a railroad car paint and repair facility. The county tore down old buildings at the site and began renovations to use for commercial development. Turner said that a couple of industrial sites located at the edge of town also were in the works. Getting Alterra Energy was a major step in the county’s economic development. “We’re happy the company chose to locate here,” he said. “It’s product is environmentally friendly; from that standpoint, we’re happy to have that in town. And we were desperate to replace some jobs. So we are welcoming them with open arms.” To contact Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334 or e-mail pramati@macontel.com [mailto:pramati@macontel.com]. Credit: The Macon Telegraph, Ga.

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