TEMPLE, TX— Temple Economic Development Corporation (Temple EDC) today announced that Thomas Biodiesel plans to locate a 25,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on a 7-acre tract in the TEDC’s North Industrial Park. The company plans to construct a state-of-the-art biodiesel manufacturing facility. The projected capital investment of $30 million will provide 30 new full-time jobs to the local economy.
“Our community is an ideal manufacturing and distribution location for those companies that design or develop their technologies and products in Austin,” said Charley Ayres, Vice President of the Temple EDC. “Taking advantage of more than just our proximity to the metro area, Thomas Biodiesel is one of many companies that have found a benefit from the talent, cost, and infrastructure in Temple.”
Thomas Biodiesel will manufacture biodiesel from waste cooking oils and other sources at the plant in Temple’s North Industrial Park. Once built, the plant is projected to generate 9 million gallons of biodiesel a year.
“Thomas Biodiesel is developing a state-of-the-art, clean biodiesel business right here in Central Texas,” said Bill Burden, Chief Executive Officer of Thomas Biodiesel. “With a design capacity of 9 million gallons per year of ASTM 6751 spec biodiesel, we are positioned to serve customers in this local market as well as the larger metroplex areas of Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin/San Antonio. We are providing green jobs and we are excited to partner with other progressive companies doing business here in Temple.”
Burden also noted that biodiesel is currently the only commercially available fuel approved by the EPA as an advanced biofuel. Relative to petroleum diesel, it reduces lifecycle greenhouse gases by up to 86%, lowers particulate matter by 47% and reduces hydrocarbon emissions by 67%.
Temple EDC has worked to facilitate meetings for Thomas Biodiesel to create partnerships with other existing industries in Temple. Ideal partners are those that have local distribution centers and would benefit from a renewable, clean-burning diesel replacement for their truck fleets.
With the addition of Thomas Biodiesel to the City of Temple, this will be the third energy sector project Temple EDC has announced in the past 15 months for a combined total capital investment of over $800 million. In October 2012, Don-Nan Pump & Supply announced it would expand to Temple with a new $25 million, 45,000-square-foot manufacturing, warehouse and distribution center. In April 2012, Panda Power Funds announced a 758 megawatt expansion of Panda Temple Power Plant, a natural gas-fueled, combined-cycle power plant currently under construction in Temple, Texas.
On Dec. 16, the City of Temple Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend the issuance of a conditional use permit for Thomas Biodiesel.
About Thomas Biodiesel
Thomas Biodiesel was founded in 2012 to convert the power of the sun into renewable transportation fuels. The company has licensed a proprietary technology that allows it to cost-effectively convert waste oils into clean biodiesel fuel. Biodiesel is a drop-in replacement for diesel, requiring no changes to diesel engines. The company’s first manufacturing facility will be located in Temple, TX; it can serve a range of customers from Central Texas to any U.S. market via rail.
About Temple
Temple, Texas, is a community with a diverse economic base that includes healthcare, distribution and warehousing, and manufacturing as its foundation. Within 200 miles of a population of 19 million, Temple is strategically located 39 minutes north of the Austin Metro Area on I-35, making it central within the Southwest U.S. marketplace. For more information, visit www.choosetemple.com.