July 22, 2008

At its meeting on July 21, 2008, the Catawba County Board of Commissioners approved a partnership and building lease agreement with Appalachian State University for the primary purpose of operating a biodiesel research facility that will assist Catawba County in producing biodiesel fuel from operations at the County’s EcoComplex and locally grown crops, assist emerging biodiesel producers in Western North Carolina in assessing the quality of their fuels, and provide biodiesel fuel to the County’s Blackburn Landfill operational fleet.

The Board also approved construction of a building to be used for the biodiesel research and for Freon recovery from white goods, to be located at the Blackburn Landfill’s buffer area fronting Rocky Ford Road. Construction costs for the building have been estimated at $900,000 with an $800,000 esimated cost for a mechanical fuel storage and conveyance system.  Appalachian State University has received $1,400,000 in combined funding for this project from the Golden LEAF Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the UNC General Administration, and the NC Biotechnology Center. The facility will be constructed with funds from the County's Solid Waste Enterprise Fund Post Closure Reserve Funds, which the County is required by the State to reserve to ensure that a landfill owner/operator has the funds necessary to properly close a landfill, provide 30 years of post-closure maintenance, and fund any corrective action costs for a permitted landfill. 

No local tax dollars will be used for the design, construction, or operation of the biodiesel research and Freon recovery facility.

"Appalachian State University will lease the applicable portion of the biodiesel research facility, and the County will contract with local farmers to grow biodiesel feedstock crops on County-owned EcoComplex and/or Blackburn Landfill property," said Barry Edwards, Catawba County Director of Utilities and Engineering. "These crops will provide biodiesel fuel to the County for operating its equipment and fleet. Appalachian State staff and graduate students will work in the biodiesel manufacturing and testing processes and perform research and certification on derived fuels."

The University’s research will include the testing of biodiesel fuel being produced by several companies in the region, as well as the growing of feedstock crops on and around the County’s Blackburn Landfill, predominantly in buffer areas. Appalachian State and North Carolina State University will test crops, and adjust or introduce new crops when applicable, to optimize the County’s fuel production, improve biodiesel crop production in Catawba County’s climate, and learn and share with producers across Western North Carolina information about which crops produce the best oils for the production of biodiesel.

Excess biodiesel fuel not consumed during research and analysis will be available to the County for use in equipment at the Blackburn Landfill and other components of the EcoComplex and Resource Recovery Facility. County staff estimates 45,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel will be available annually. The County’s July 1, 2008 estimate of the cost per gallon to produce biodiesel from crops cultivated on County property is $2.00 per gallon. The County’s most recent bulk purchase of on-road diesel fuel was at $4.589 per gallon. Thus, by using biodiesel fuel grown and developed at the research facility, the County will realize approximately $2.50 per gallon of avoided cost.

"The Freon recovery component of the facility will capture Freon from white goods received at the Blackburn Landfill for use in university research," Edwards added. "The Federal Clean Air Act prohibits knowingly venting ozone-depleting refrigerants such as Freon while servicing or disposing of air conditioning/refrigeration equipment. So Freon must be removed from refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners, including automobile air conditioners, that are entering the waste stream with their refrigerant charge intact. Recovered Freon has a high value in today's market and is recyclable. Blackburn Landfill staff and applicable ASU staff are, or will be, trained and certified to manage the extraction, employment, and sale of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerant components from used white goods, making it possible for Catawba County to generate additional revenues from the sale of the CFC-free white goods for recycling."

Staff has estimated annual revenues from the Biodiesel Research and White Goods Freon Recovery facility of approximately $302,000, providing the County with an annual 5% return on its investment over a ten year period, or the return of $3,402,322 on the $1,998,964 investment over 7.4 years.

You may learn more about the Catawba County Eco-Complex, or call the County's Public Information Office at 828-465-8464 for more information.