London-based Four Rivers BioEnergy Inc.’s CEO Stephen Padgett has issued a letter to his company’s shareholders providing a quarterly update of progress made on the company’s waste-to-energy project, which will be capable of producing biodiesel. While Biodiesel Magazine was unable to reach a representative of Four Rivers BioEnergy for further comment on the project, the letter and an accompanying presentation provides a basic outline of the company’s strategy.
According to the information released by Four Rivers BioEnergy, its U.K.-based waste-to-energy project is now entering into the final stages of preproduction development, and plans to rebrand the company as Verta Energy are ongoing. The new name aims to more accurately reflect the company’s objectives, said Padgett.
The site for the proposed plant was acquired in 2009. According to Padgett’s letter, the site included infrastructure for the receiving, qualifying and sorting, pretreatment, cleaning, blending and storing of biobased oils. “Part of the focus of our development activity on-site has been to expand this capability and to develop our operational know-how in this area,” Padgett continued.
The letter outlines three primary themes the project is being developed around. First is vertical integration into the feedstock supply chain. “Verta Energy plans to secure our requirements for waste liquid biomass feedstock by vertical integration of the supply chain, which is aimed at securing our feedstock cost, quantity and quality (from sustainable, renewable sources),” Padgett said in the letter. “The supply chain is immature and highly fragmented, and we see considerable opportunity in taking ‘ownership’ of our supply requirements.”
The letter further outlines three possible avenues through which this will be achieved: the acquisition for formation of joint ventures with groups that have established a presence in liquid biomass procurement; the development of a crush plant and refinery that would supply virgin oil to the food industry and allow Verta Energy to “backhaul” waste for use in energy production; and the development of import strategies to procure feedstock.
Another theme revolves around the production of biodiesel. “We recently announced that BP has agreed to accept a further extension of the commencement date for the FAME 0 Biodiesel off-take contract that we have with them and we continue to involve them closely in our plans,” Padgett said in the letter. “There is speculation that FAME 0 produced from sustainable biomass …may be identified for further government support to differentiate it as a renewable fuel, which would further improve the economics of FAME 0 production.”
The final theme relates to renewable electricity production, which will allow the company to qualify for Renewable Obligation Credits. According to Padgett, the ability to switch production between biodiesel and renewable electricity in response to market conditions and demand offers his company a distinct advantage.
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