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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, October 19, 2007

HECO seeks OK for biodiesel contract

Advertiser Staff

Hawaiian Electric Co. is seeking state approval of a contract with Imperium Services LLC to supply biodiesel for HECO's proposed electrical generating plant at Campbell Industrial Park.

The contract, which runs through 2011, would supply HECO's total fuel requirements for the Campbell generating station, which are expected to be between 5 million and 12 million gallons of biodiesel a year, HECO said in a news release.

HECO yesterday filed an application with the state Public Utilities Commission for approval of the contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The utility is building a 110-megawatt power plant at Campbell Industrial Park that would be fired by biodiesel, a clean-burning alternative fuel that can be made from a variety of vegetable oils, including palm oil, and other feedstocks.

Construction of the $142 millon power plant is expected to begin in early 2008, with service starting by mid-2009.

Seattle-based Imperium, through its local subsidiary Imperium Renewables Hawaii, plans to produce 100 million gallons of biodiesel a year at a refinery to be built at Kalaeloa Harbor on land leased from the state Department of Transportation.

"We're proud to have been selected by Hawaiian Electric for this important contract," said Martin Tobias, chairman and chief executive officer of Imperium Renewables.

"We look forward to helping ... Hawai'i reduce its dependence on petroleum and achieve a more sustainable and self-sufficient energy future," he said.