Imperium restarts Grays Harbor biodiesel plant

Imperium Renewables said it has restarted production of biodiesel at its Grays Harbor County facility, three months after an explosion idled the plant.

The Seattle-based company said it received this week the first of 40 railcars carrying Northwest-grown canola oil that will be converted into biodiesel. The regional market has been strengthened by recent mandates in British Columbia and Oregon for use of biodiesel, Imperium said in a statement.

The plant, capable of producing 100 million gallons annually, opened in 2007 to great fanfare and was expected to employ more than 50. But it quickly saw the market for biodiesel weaken amid declining oil prices and questions about the fuel's impact on agriculture and carbon levels.

In December, while running at low capacity, it suffered an explosion blamed on over-pressurization of a glycerin-processing tank. None of the six workers on-site at the time was injured, but production halted.

Imperium now employs about 30 at the plant, as it did before the explosion, said spokesman John Williams.

"We are thrilled to be producing again," said John Plaza, founder and CEO of Imperium Renewables. "We have replaced the damaged equipment and re-designed the glycerin neutralization system to ensure such a rupture won't happen again."