Blue Ridge Biofuels is expanding biodiesel production by renting space and installing processing equipment at the Catawba County EcoComplex, a LEED Silver certified facility in western North Carolina powered by methane gas from an adjacent landfill. Last year, Blue Ridge Biofuels produced 360,000 gallons of biodiesel, but this year the company plans to triple production to 1 million gallons. By 2017, Blue Ridge Biofuels plans to manufacture 3 MMgy.  

“We’ll be maintaining jobs in western North Carolina while creating new jobs at the Catawba County production facility,” said CEO Woodrow Eaton. “Under a new partnership with Peak Energy, we will be opening a new biodiesel and used cooking oil collection terminal in Asheville. This terminal will support all of our existing biodiesel customers and restaurant clients, while improving services for both. The new facility will allow us to significantly increase our biodiesel production so we can contribute even more to the regional economy and to energy sustainability. It will also allow us to expand our used cooking oil collection services to the Charlotte and Hickory markets. We are also working with Appalachian State University to provide research and learning opportunities.”

Financing for Blue Ridge Biofuels’ growth is being provided by Self-Help Credit Union.

For more on the Catawba County EcoComplex, click here. 

The new year also marks Blue Ridge Biofuels’ first full year as a certified BQ-9000 Producer, an important designation since BQ-9000 certification is required by North Carolina’s largest consumer of biodiesel—the Department of Transportation.

Finally, the company announced a new partnership with Peak Energy, a western North Carolina company delivering home heating oil since 1952. The arrangement helps ensure Blue Ridge Biofuels’ Bioheat customers receive high-quality service, the company says, in addition to increasing Blue Ridge Biofuels’ distribution range and allowing it to focus on making more biodiesel.