Camelina-Based Biodiesel
Great Plains--The Camelina Company is in the biodiesel business. In case you're wondering what camelina is...
- Camelina sativa (false flax) is an ancient food plant but no longer broadly used
- Native to Northern Europe- from Finland to Romania
- Member of the mustard family
- Typically grown in marginal agricultural lands
- Minimal management required if planted on relatively clean ground
- High Protein content of the seeds: 25%
- High in oil content: ~40%
- Introduced to US several years ago
That last bullet is a reference to the fact that it's a weed that was probably brought over with flax seed. It's now found in much of the U.S., including parts of Oregon. Switching links...
Camelina is well-suited to marginal land, including much of Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, and Montana. In Montana alone, there are 50,000 acres of camelina in production. Camelina can also be grown in dry climates, such as Southern California and Texas.
...and possibly the Four Corners region. In some climates, camelina can be a cheaper feedstock for biodiesel than rapeseed (also in the mustard family). Camelina farming here is in its infancy, but that's rapidly changing...and the price of the feedstock is already rising.
Competition from surging grain prices prompted a Bigfork MT biofuels developer to announce Friday it will boost its contract price for the oilseed crop camelina.
Great Plains--The Camelina Company is one of two groups with plans to produce a combined 200 million gallons of biofuels annually from camelina within the next two to three years.
The companies are aiming to capitalize on rising interest for crop-derived fuels such as biodiesel, touted as an alternative to foreign oil. But reaching their lofty goals will require the companies to secure contracts on an estimated 2 million acres of farmland.
That’s a tough sell for farmers enjoying record-high wheat prices. Spring wheat was priced at between $17 and $20 a bushel on Friday, said Lola Raska with the Montana Grain Growers Association. She said about 5 million acres of wheat are planted each year in Montana. To compete, Great Plains said Friday it is increasing its camelina contract price to $9 per bushel. Company founder Sam Huttenbauer said the remaining gap with wheat prices would be covered by camelina's low "input" costs — meaning it needs fewer fertilizers and herbicides.
Two million acres of camelina between the two companies? From this link:
In August, Great Plains announced a partnership with INEOS Enterprises, a U.K. manufacturer of specialty chemicals and oil products. The partnership seeks to boost the production of camelina in Canada and the Pacific Northwest to 100,000 acres. ... Great Plains also has a partnership with Ohio-based Peter Cremer North America LP to supply camelina for the company’s Nexsol brand of biodiesel. Great Plains said it is willing to contract all the camelina acres that Montana growers are willing to plant.
Returning to the original article...
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., inserted a measure in the farm bill pending before Congress that would offer crop insurance to camelina growers. He said Friday that high wheat prices won’t be enough to stall the demand for camelina.
"I think it’s competitive and that's the bottom line," said Tester, a farmer from Big Sandy.
Great Plains also said Friday it will invest $20 million this year in an oilseed crushing facility and a biodiesel refinery. The company previously said it would announce a location for those projects last year, but Huttenbauer said he is still trying to finalize a site.
Sustainable Oils is the other company referenced in the article. It's a joint venture between Targeted Growth (of Seattle) and Green Earth Fuels, both of which are privately held. From its initial press release in November...
The new venture will produce and market up to 100 million gallons of Camelina-based biodiesel by 2010, launching the single-largest U.S. contract for the unique biodiesel-specific feedstock. Nearly all of the initial Camelina production is expected to be grown in Montana.
Switching links (Feb 13 article)...
Montana camelina crops will be crushed in-state, but Panter says his company (Sustainable Oils) has not yet committed to a location for the biodiesel production plant.
Neither has a site for their proposed plants, and camelina acreage is currently a fraction of what will be needed. Yet, the two companies will produce a combined 200 million gallons of camelina-based biodiesel in 2-3 years? "Up to" was the key phrase.
All the same could be said of hemp.
Posted by: Ten Bears | February 24, 2008 at 15:48
Interesting article about Camelina, I thought it was long gone a time ago.
Posted by: Gary | October 06, 2008 at 23:40