Grant fuels biodiesel plant

Primafuel, a Long Beach, Calif.-based company that designs and builds biodiesel manufacturing plants, announced today the receipt of a $640,000 California Air Resources Board (CARB) grant  to fund the construction of a biodiesel facility at the Port of Sacramento. The grant is the largest CARB has awarded to a single project since it began awarding grants in 2004 as part of the $25 million California  Alternative Fuels Incentive Program.

The the proposed 60 million gallon plant is slated for the North Terminal of the Port of Sacramento in West Sacramento, Calif.  "This project marks the beginning of a business renaissance at the Port of Sacramento, bringing in environmentally sound businesses to West Sacramento that supports maritime commerce," said Mike McGowan, chairman of the Sacramento-Yolo Port District Commission.

The plant is one element of a surge in redevelopment of the West Sacramento waterfront. The commission selected Baltimore, MD- based developer Cordish Co. in late June 2007 to begin a mixed-use redevelopment of the area. The company's plan includes a pedestrian transportation loop, public gathering places, marinas and a pedestrian bridge, with mixed-use riverfront districts on both sides of the Sacramento River. Cordish Co. estimates the development would add 30,000 residents and office developments drawing in 110,000 day-time workers.