Mainebiz

V o l . X X I N o. I I Ja N ua r y 2 6 , 2 0 1 5 28 G r e at e r P o r t l a n d F O C U S to educate them about biofuels. Biodiesel was heavily pushed in the state five to seven years ago, and a few bad experiences from other suppliers created some skepticism." Fleet customers include Oakhurst Dairy, Atlantic Transport, Pine Tree Waste, Blue Rock, Revision Energy, the Downeast Duck Adventures, Portland Trails and Barber Foods. In the case of Barber Foods, it sells Maine Standard its grease, then turns around and buys it back in the form of biodiesel it uses to heat its facility. At Oakhurst Dairy, fleet trucks have used 3.6 million gallons of Maine Standard biodiesel since 2006, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 14.7 million pounds, David Green, Oakhurst's manager of fleet and facilities, says. "We needed a solid local company to help us meet our goals of reduc- ing emissions, and we've worked with them to get a product we can truly use year round," Green says. "As our past president Stan Bennett said, 'Our cows eat and breathe our environment.'" Maine Standard Biofuels is the only EPA-registered biodiesel manu- facturer in Maine. Other distribu- tors are either buying from Maine Standard or working with a plant out of state. "Biodiesel from other sup- pliers is almost always a lower blend, usually just 10% biofuel," Kaltsas says. e company benefits from govern- ment incentives, including a discount in the on-road state excise tax per gal- lon. It reaps some revenue from selling Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs, essentially fuel blending cred- its. "We generate a RIN and a half for every gallon we make," Kaltsas says, "but right now the RIN market is pretty weak; they're trading pretty low." e industry faces a number of regulatory changes, which are creat- ing uncertainty. e EPA has delayed setting Reusable Fuel Standard man- dates, while Congress has held off on voting on the so-called blenders tax credit, leaving biofuel manufac- turers in limbo. Experts say federal foot-dragging slowed investment, but the industry increased output last year to 800 mil- lion gallons of biodiesel, close to dou- ble 2011's number. By 2017, that number is expected to more than double, to 1.7 billion gallons, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. "With so much uncertainly with the RIN market and subsidies, we're working to be sustainable without relying on either of them," Kaltsas says. "e heating oil and the liquid soap are helping us diversify. We're really excited about our soap. We're selling it to restaurants. Allagash Brewing, Garbage to Garden, Pine Tree Waste and other companies [use it]. We can expand distribution and may do private label with soap dis- tributors. By the end of year we hope to have 250,000 gallons out the door." McIntosh adds that the company has the capacity to increase fuel pro- duction as well, to as much as 1.5 mil- lion gallons with, "little to no addi- tional investment." e plant made 410,000 gallons last year. e workforce totals 14, including two hires last year, and Maine Standard occupies two, 10,000-square-foot build- ings. It buys grease from close to 1,000 restaurants in the Northeast. But Kaltsas is carefully balancing supply with demand. And with petro- leum prices so volatile, he's not keen to purchase more for blending than he knows he can sell within the week. "Or we could lose our shirts with a price drop," he says. "One of my visions for Maine is to create a bio- diesel trail, with a number of conven- tional filling stations carrying our B20 blend at the pumps. We're going to get that in the works this spring." Pine notes that in the Midwest biodiesel is more common — Iowa is a leading manufacturer — and can be purchased at conventional filling stations. In Europe, furnaces can burn the fuel unblended. For Kaltsas and crew, the future for biofuel is about more than the bottom line. Pine says, "We're lessening our dependence on foreign oil. We're not just making fuel; we're doing it because we believe it will take us to a better place." Ti n a F i s c h e r , a w r i t e r b a s e d i n S o u t h P o r t l a n d , c a n b e r e a c h e d a t e d i t o r i a l @ m a i n e B i z . B i z Smarter Banking ™ androscogginbank.com businesses are moving with smarter banking Greater Portland To find out how we'll provide smarter solutions for your business, contact Dave Eldridge, SVP & Commercial Lending Manager • 207.376.3626 deldridge@androscogginbank.com » C o n t i n u e d f ro m P r e v i o u S Pa G e it comes down to getting more people using the fuel, so if we take a slight loss on one side, but are increasing our market share, it's worth it. — Jarmin Kaltsas, president, Maine Standard Biofuels

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