Green Energy: Biofuels and the Pacific Northwest

As the United States faces ever increasing fuel prices, many are turning to alternative energy sources. Government grants and support has been given to a large variety of projects, from making algal fuel economical to producing large amounts of solar power. Small and large companies, all across the country, are trying to be on the cutting edge of this 'green' push. Many startups, backed by venture capitalist, are hoping to create the magic bullet (or close) to this energy crisis.

The Pacific Northwest, as part of the West Coast, has traditionally been on the cutting edge of high tech usage (thanks to Microsoft, Boeing, and other companies), but heavy alternative energy usage has not yet broken out. Solar power is nowhere as popular, or as feasible as in New Mexico and California, thanks to the lack of year-round, heavy sunshine. Neither has ethanol and ethanol blends for flex fuel vehicles taken off very much, as neither Washington nor Oregon have as hearty a corn industry as the Midwest.

However, strides have been made in other areas of alternative energy. Several companies, including Sequential Biofuel of Portland, Oregon, have started selling biodiesel to customers. Much of this biodiesel is from waste cooking oil, collected from restaurants and other locales throughout the area. This is a great use of an otherwise wasted substance. Sequential also receives some of its biodiesel from soybean grown in Oregon, and processed into oil.

Wind energy is nowhere as prevalent as in some states (i.e California), but several are quite a few wind farms in the region. The open, flat areas of Eastern Washington has become a popular location for wind farms. The Port of Vancouver, Washington, has played an important role in this wind energy movement. This is because the majority of the parts needed to create a wind farm are processed through this port, from as far away as South Korea and other locations. Despite it being a smaller port than the one located in Portland, it receives more wind energy equipment. The Port of Vancouver has been rated as one of the 'greenest' Ports in the United States, thanks to its commitment to sustainability and the role it has played in the 'green' movement.

Several plants for the production of ethanol from various sources have either been built recently, or are still under construction. Washington does not have as much corn production as much of the Midwest for ethanol creation, but it does have a strong logging industry, and much of the byproducts/waste from this may be turned into ethanol. A cellulosic ethanol production facility is being constructed in Longview, Washington, for this very purpose (Longview plays an enormous role in the region's timber industry).

There are many other alternative energy projects being undertaken in the region, at the university and at the corporate level. Hopefully, these will help create a better, greener future for the Pacific Northwest, and for the rest of the world.