California Energy Commission awards $2.6 million to Buster Biofuels

In California, the state’s Energy Commission approved $5,580,773 for clean-energy transportation projects ranging from producing biofuels to making trucks run cleaner. Buster Biofuels, LLC, based in the San Diego area, will receive $2,641,723 to convert a 7,300 square foot industrial warehouse building into a biodiesel manufacturing and fueling facility. The facility will create biodiesel from renewable waste-based materials such as used cooking oil from restaurants. The chemical process used separates the glycerin from fats or oils, leaving biodiesel and glycerin. Glycerin can be used in the production of soaps, cosmetics and other products. The biodiesel is typically blended with petroleum diesel, and can be used in place of conventional diesel, usually with no modifications to the vehicle. Besides being renewable, biodiesel produces fewer greenhouse gases than conventional fossil-fuel diesel. The facility is slated to produce nearly 5 million gallons of transportation fuel per year. Its benefits include the reduction of an estimated 32,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually – roughly equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions produced by 5,850 gasoline vehicles in a year.