American Biofuels, which is 35% owned by Green Star Products, Inc., announced today its decision to expand its biodiesel production facility in Bakersfield, California, to 10-million gallons per year before the end of 2005.
BAKERSFIELD, California — American Biofuels (ABF), which is 35% owned by Green Star Products, Inc. (OTC:GSPI), announced today its decision to expand its biodiesel production facility in Bakersfield, California, to 10-million gallons per year before the end of 2005. This decision was made in response to recent overwhelming support to encourage the use of biofuels by the federal government and also at the state level in California and other states.
On June 15, 2005, President Bush addressed the 16th annual Energy Efficiency Forum. "Our dependence on foreign oil is like a foreign tax on the American Dream -- and that tax is growing every year," the President said.
The President went on to say, "We've got to be aggressive about finding alternative sources of fuel and one such source is ethanol. Ethanol comes from corn -- and we're pretty good about growing corn here in America, we've got a lot of good corn growers. Therefore, it makes sense to promote ethanol as an alternative to foreign sources of oil. Ethanol can be mixed with gasoline to produce a clean, efficient fuel." The President also stated, "By the way, we can get the same type of alternative fuel from soybeans. It's called biodiesel. And that's a promising source of energy. I went to a biodiesel refinery in Virginia that is making fuel from soybean oil. Other producers are making biodiesel, by the way, from waste products like recycled cooking grease. Biodiesel can be used in any vehicle that runs on regular diesel. So as you get more clean diesel engines in America, biodiesel becomes an alternative fuel for them. It burns more completely and produces less air pollution than gasoline or regular diesel.
"It makes sense for the energy bill to encourage renewable sources of energy that are becoming much more practical and much more economic in today's world. To encourage greater use of ethanol and biodiesel, my administration supports a flexible, cost-effective renewable fuel standard as a part of the energy bill," as further stated by the President.
On June 28, 2005 the U.S. Senate passed the Energy Bill (by a vote of 85 to 12), which extends the biodiesel tax incentive through 2010, which was the soybean and biodiesel industry's No. 1 legislative priority. It also creates a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) requiring the use of 8 billion gallons of renewable fuels, like biodiesel and ethanol, by 2012.
At the state level, on June 1, 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for California at the United Nations World Environment Day celebrations in San Francisco. The governor signed an Executive Order, which establishes these greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and charges the California Environmental Protection Agency secretary with the coordination of the oversight of efforts to achieve them.
"Technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions are increasingly in demand in the worldwide marketplace," said California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) Secretary Allan Lloyd, who will be responsible for implementing the governor's Executive Order.
As one of the largest economies in the world and the most populous state in the nation, California is the 10th largest carbon emitter in the world. If met on schedule, the governor's targets will lead to greater emission reductions over the next five years than will be achieved in the larger economies of either Britain or France.
"California companies investing in these technologies are well placed to benefit from this demand," Mr. Lloyd said. "This will boost California's economy and protect public health and the environment."
In April 2005, nearly 500 California scientists with climate expertise urged the governor to take significantly stronger action to protect our health, economy, and environment. The governor's plans begin to answer the scientists' call to action.
Joseph LaStella, P.E., President of GSPI stated that "the California Energy Commission has recommended State policy goals to reduce petroleum fuel use and to increase the use of alternative fuels. Biodiesel was among the alternative fuels considered and included within the Commission's recommendations. Later this year the Commission will be reporting that the State of California could increase its use of biodiesel ASAP to replace up to 5% of the state's diesel consumption by 2010. This would require 150 million gallons of biodiesel annually for California alone, which would be equivalent to five times the annual production of the whole United States in 2004." Mr. LaStella went on to say that "this single act would reduce the global warming gases produced by California by two billion pounds per year, this is similar to placing 300,000 renewably-fuelled hydrogen vehicles on the road today. Creating a biodiesel industry in California will create jobs and a new industry in addition to significant reductions in other emissions and taking a step closer to a sustainable economy."
Mr. LaStella also stated, "The great State of California has the 5th largest economy in the world and also is the 10th largest emitter of global warming gases. Californians are usually looked upon as affluent with above average life styles. The real fact is that the people of California use 40% less electrical energy per capita than the rest of the United States. California now leads again by adopting global warming reductions similar to the requirement of the international Kyoto Treaty accepted by 150 nations (as of July 7, 2005) and not by the United States. Conservation and the use of renewable alternative fuels such as biodiesel are the best means to cut global warming without cutting back the needed growth of our industrial economy."
Biodiesel has strong grassroots support across the US and even some OEMs have included a 5% blend of biodiesel in their new vehicles. DaimlerChrysler adds a 5% blend of biodiesel in their new diesel powered Liberty Jeep coming off their assembly line.
Mr. LaStella also stated that "in response to the ever growing demand for biodiesel, American Biofuels has already begun its next expansion to 10 million gallons per year to be completed before year end (expansion pictures available at GreenStarUSA.com), and will continue its expansion next year to its eventual planned capacity of 35 million gallons at the Bakersfield location."
American Biofuels has been a member of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) since 2001 and in the same year received its registration for three EPA certificates for its biodiesel fuel and fuel additives. ABF was also approved to participate in the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Bioenergy Program (http://www.fsa.usda.gov/daco/bio_daco.htm), which pays producers cash incentives for biodiesel production.
In 2004, ABF was listed on the USDA Bioenergy Program website as the 8th largest producer of biodiesel in the U.S. and the largest producer on the west coast.
Green Star Products, Inc. is an environmentally friendly company dedicated to creating innovative cost-effective products to improve the quality of life and clean up the environment. GSPI is involved in the production of renewable clean-burning biodiesel and other products including lubricants, additives and devices that reduce emissions and improve fuel economy in vehicles, machinery and power plants. For more information, see GSPI's Web site at http://www.GreenStarUSA.com or call Investor Relations at 619-864-4010, or fax 619-789-4743, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Information about trading prices and volume can be obtained at several Internet sites including http://www.bloomberg.com and http://www.bigcharts.com under the ticker symbol "GSPI."
Source: Business Wire, American Biofuels
