Pacific Biodiesel completes 1st sunflower-biodiesel delivery from its Kauai ag operations

Photo: Pacific Biodiesel

Pacific Biodiesel announced July 14 that in late June it made its first delivery of biodiesel produced with sunflower oil from the company’s expanded agriculture operations on Kauai.

The container with 6,500 gallons of biodiesel, a 100 percent renewable fuel produced at the company’s refinery on Hawaii Island, was delivered to longtime customer Hawaiian Electric for its 50-megawatt Schofield Generating Station on Oahu.

SGS came online in 2018 and is located on eight acres at Schofield Barracks that the Army is leasing to Hawaiian Electric.

SGS is capable of keeping critical infrastructure running during a major outage affecting the island’s electricity grid.

During normal operations, SGS sends power to the island’s grid daily.

“We’re excited to work with Pacific Biodiesel to achieve this important milestone,” said Nick Paslay, Hawaiian Electric’s director of fuels. “Being able to source biofuel made from locally grown feedstock helps boost Hawaii’s energy security and supports economic growth.”

Biodiesel strengthens energy resilience

“Having this biofuel option significantly strengthens energy resilience for the Schofield Generating Station and the wider Oahu power grid by providing a sustainable, locally produced fuel source for our critical infrastructure,” said Col. Rachel Sullivan, U.S. Army garrison Hawaii commander. “Through our active partnership with Hawaiian Electric and Pacific Biodiesel we are ensuring that our soldiers can maintain their operational readiness, ultimately enhancing their lethality and ability to execute missions effectively.”

According to Hawaiian Electric, SGS is the only power plant on Oahu that is located inland, protected from the potential impact of storms, tsunami and rising sea levels.

Although capable of operating on biodiesel or diesel, since commissioning it has operated primarily on locally produced 100 percent biodiesel.

Biodiesel from locally produced ag a first for Hawaii

“This milestone delivery represents the first commercial-scale liquid biofuel produced in Hawaii entirely from Hawaii-grown feedstock—ever,” said Bob King, Pacific Biodiesel’s founder and president. “By significantly scaling up local agriculture, we are rapidly expanding our capacity to support Hawaii’s energy and food security. Now more than ever, our locally grown biofuel supports energy resilience in our state and is an important domestic fuel supply to help support national security for our country.”

Pacific Biodiesel estimates nearly 13.6 million gallons of biodiesel have been used to fuel SGS since 2018, resulting in the prevention of more than 285 million pounds—or 129,523 metric tons—of CO2 from entering the atmosphere as harmful greenhouse-gas emissions.

Additionally, Pacific Biodiesel has been collecting and recycling used cooking oil (UCO) from restaurants and other foodservice operations at Schofield Barracks for nearly 14 years.

After pretreatment at Pacific Biodiesel’s processing plant on Sand Island, the UCO is shipped to the company’s refinery on Hawaii Island where it is recycled for biodiesel production—for each gallon of UCO recycled, nearly 1 gallon of biodiesel is produced.

Last year alone, approximately 20,000 gallons of UCO from Schofield Barracks was recycled by Pacific Biodiesel into 20,000 gallons of biodiesel for Hawaii.

“We appreciate our operations teams around the state working together on this milestone delivery for Hawaiian Electric,” said Jenna Long, Pacific Biodiesel’s director of operations. “It’s exciting to see our expanded agriculture operations producing this important supply of local feedstock for our biodiesel production and we look forward to seeing that continue to grow.”

Pacific Biodiesel sunflower farming facts

• Sunflower farming operations on Maui and Kauai.

• 1 ton of harvested seeds per acre.

• Nearly 100 gallons of sunflower oil produced per acre.

• Residual meal (after sunflower seeds are crushed) is sold as a high-protein ingredient for livestock feed.

• Crushing mill on Kauai features expeller press with capacity to crush 40 tons of harvested seed per day.

• Sunflowers are a 100-day crop (approximately 100 to 110 days from planting to harvest).

• Regenerative agriculture practices include:

  
  
  
  

  • Natural farming practices and no GMO crops.

  
  
  
  

  • All farm equipment runs on 100 percent biodiesel.

  
  
  
  

  • Mechanical cultivation for weed removal (no herbicides).

  
  
  
  

  • Efficient above-ground pivot irrigation systems that eliminate plastic drip tape.

  
  
  
  

  • Crop rotation for soil health.