Biofuels Power Corp. (“BPC”) is the first company to enter the U.S. power grid with 100% biofuels made from waste oils. We do not use corn (like ethanol) and we do not remove edible vegetable oils from the food chain.
We get fat from animal renderers (chicken, beef and pork) and waste feedstock from vegetable oil processors. Then we process the feedstock into spec fuel for our power plant.
We have a full laboratory with technicians that evaluate each feedstock and provide a recipe that will make a high-quality fuel.
We currently have two power plants operating in Texas, one with a 5MW capacity using 3 Caterpillar reciprocating generators and another plant with a GE Frame 5 turbine engine producing 10MW.
No, the 5MW plant uses traditional biodiesel and the 10MW turbine can use a cheaper biodiesel with higher viscosity from a greater variety of feedstocks. A steam turbine project scheduled for year-end will be able to burn waste oils directly, without conversion.
We operate in the ERCOT grid which is required to purchase all the power produced under a real-time posted price that changes during the day. BPC operates as a “peaker” – choosing to run when the power prices are at their peak or highest point. We run during the afternoon and evening hours in the spring but plan to run the entire day in the summer when high temperatures provide the highest power prices.
We operate in an area that uses natural gas as power plant fuel. The power companies are allowed to adjust their price to consumers based on the natural gas price. The average price for electricity last year was approximately $65.00/MWhr when natural gas averaged $6.50 per MCF. Since the gas price has increased to over $10.00 since the first of this year, we have seen power prices exceeding $100.00 per MWhr for this year.
No, since we only purchase off-spec oils for our fuel, our price per gallon has remained unchanged for the last year.