Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Kevin Nortz / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Snohomish County programmer and analyst Allon Fennell watches as canola seed is moved into storage silos at the Cathcart biodiesel facility last fall. A seed crusher is expected to be delivered soon.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, April 13, 2009 Snohomish County's next phase in biodiesel plan is new seed crusher By Noah Haglund Herald Writer EVERETT -- Snohomish County's plan to dry and store canola seed for biodiesel production is chugging along, despite a tanking alternative-fuels market. A 24-ton machine that crushes canola seed is expected to arrive any day. Next month, the county's public works staff hopes to test the machine by smashing leftover seed into oil. If that goes well, it should be ready for the fall harvest. "I think the project's going forward," Councilman Dave Somers said. "It's still going to be good for us." Biodiesel is a cleaner-burning version of petroleum-based diesel. It can be made from a variety of vegetable oils, including corn and rapeseed, which is commonly known as canola. In September, the county unveiled a $1.2 million* center at Cathcart for the project, part of a plan to support local farmers and help switch the county over to more renewable energy. The county also secured a $500,000 grant last year from the Washington State Department of Community Trade and Economic Development to buy the crusher. In August, the County Council approved a $464,000 bid from Whole Energy Fuels Corp. of Bellingham to procure the equipment, install it and train county employees to use it. The machinery was supposed to be in place in February, but the company missed the deadline because it couldn't make a final $68,000 payment to the manufacturer, Insta-Pro International of Des Moines, Iowa. To avoid losing the grant, the County Council on April 1 voted to make the final payment directly to the manufacturer and to subtract that amount from Whole Energy's original contract. The crusher is to be housed at Cathcart instead of another location in the Stanwood area because of concerns that the canola seed would cross-contaminate cabbage seed, county public works director Steve Thomsen said. Whole Energy CEO Atul Deshmane said the county's payment helped his company with near-term cash-flow. Whole Energy has been waiting for payments from many of its own business partners hit by the overall economy and a plunge in commodity prices, Deshmane said. Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com. *Correction, April 15, 2009: This article originally listed the incorrect price for the project. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

1. City of Everett, neighbor sued over lost trees, mudslide 2. Three-car accident closes Highway 9 3. Kennedy’s assassination remains a puzzling memory 4. Ways to Give: How you can help in your community 5. Take a look under your seat 6. Novice real estate investors can lose their shirts 7. Kwan never golden, but sometimes transcendant 8. Lotto ticket worth $6.5 million sold in Lake Stevens 9. Canceled credit cards come as a shock for some 10. Count drags on long after the election's over 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Eat local this Thanksgiving • Mavericks moving on • Canada's Great Big Sea rolls into Edmonds • A. Murphy finishes 2nd in volleyball • Art Walk features music, demonstrations • EAT LOCAL: Getting the goods • Lynnwood HS history teacher Vic Bennet dies • Wildcats head to semis • CSO Chamber annual show slated Nov. 23 • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million