Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Northwest's biggest city decided recently to stop buying biodiesel to fuel city trucks and machines. That decision in Seattle deals yet another blow to the struggling biofuels industry in the region. Correspondent Tom Banse reports.

The city of Seattle stopped buying biodiesel temporarily because of doubts about the greenhouse gas benefits of fuel derived from soybeans.

A recent EPA study suggests crop-based biofuels trigger land clearing and rainforest destruction in the tropics.

The president of Seattle-based refiner Imperium Renewables John Plaza despairs at what he calls rampant “misinformation.”

John Plaza: “There can be issues on both sides whether it's good, whether it's bad. But the facts prove that biofuel significantly reduces greenhouse gases. The facts prove that it is a tremendous economic engine for the state, the region, and the nation.”

Imperium owns the biggest biodiesel refinery in the region.

The Grays Harbor, Washington plant made biodiesel from Northwest and Canadian canola oil. It has been idle since winter due to lack of demand.

Government buyers and some green activists are pinning their hopes on wider availability of biodiesel made from recycled fryer grease or on future sources like algae.