For Immediate Release

Contact:  Lyle Estill, 919-321-8260 lyle@biofuels.coop

This year’s Sustainable Biodiesel Summit (SBS) will be held in Pittsboro on March 5th.  Every year since 2002 sustainable biodiesel enthusiasts have gathered in different cities to listen to top industry experts, compare notes, and learn about one another’s  projects.

The 2011 SBS is a collaboration between Piedmont Biofuels, Central Carolina Community College, and The Abundance Foundation. This year’s speakers include Dr. Jon Van Gerpen from the University of Idaho, considered by some to be one of America’s foremost biodiesel educators.  Also confirmed are Frankie Abralind, a publisher and activist from Washington D.C., and Matt Rudolf from the Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels which is headquartered in Switzerland.

Biodiesel enthusiasts from across America, Canada, and Carribean countries will be in attendance.

Piedmont Biofuels is a leader in the grassroots sustainable biodiesel movement, and as the conference sponsor Piedmont will be staging a three day “Biodiesel Intensive” workshop in advance of the Summit. The workshop will be held on March 2, 3, and 4th.  Piedmont’s own Rachel Burton, a globally recognized expert in fuel quality, and Chris Jude, will both be contributing instructors at the workshop.  This year’s Biodiesel Intensive will introduce enzymatic biodiesel production, which Piedmont has pioneered.

Rachel Burton has delivered technical papers at biodiesel conferences in Canada, the United States and Europe.  She said, “The promise of enzymatic production is that it will allow biodiesel producers to use less expensive feedstocks to produce a more economical fuel,” Burton said.

Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) will host both the Biodiesel Intensive workshop and the Sustainable Biodiesel Summit.  It will give CCCC the opportunity to showcase its interconnected programs.  Currently they have the ability to grow oilseed crops through their Sustainable Agriculture program, crush the seeds into oil, use the oil for cooking as part of their new Natural Chef program, and convert the used cooking oil into fuel for their fleet through the Biofuels Program.

Bob Armantrout, of CCCC will be offering instruction as part of the Biodiesel Intensive Workshop, and facilitating a biodiesel community conversation at the Sustainable Biodiesel Summit.

“We are delighted to see this event come to Pittsboro,” said Armantrout.  “We already think of ourselves as ‘the biodiesel capital of North Carolina,’ but this event will bring us national attention.”

The Abundance Foundation has served as the fiscal sponsor of the Sustainable Biodiesel Summit for the past few years, staging events in San Antonio, San Francisco, and Grapevine, Texas.  “It’s exciting to see it SBS come to our hometown,” said Tami Schwerin, Executive Director of Abundance.  “Promoting renewable energy is part of our mission,” she added.

The Biodiesel Intensive workshop is expected to include 20-30 participants, many of whom are already making biodiesel, or exploring an entry into the industry.  The Sustainable Biodiesel Summit is expected to see over a hundred participants, from fleet managers to backyard brewers to those with farm-scale biodiesel production.

March 5th is the evening of Pittsboro’s 4th Annual Mardi Gras Carnival, and it is anticipated that many biodiesel enthusiasts and activists will wrap up their conference with an evening at the Mardi Gras celebration.

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The Enzymatic Biodiesel pilot plant was developed in partnership with the Biofuels Center of North Carolina, Novozymes, and the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation. This is the first pilot plant of its kind in the United States and uses cutting edge technology developed by Piedmont Biofuels and Novozymes to create high quality biodiesel from low quality waste grease. Biodiesel is a diesel fuel alternative made from fats and oils which can be used in existing diesel engines without modification.

The current biodiesel production method forms soaps or salts in both the biodiesel and glycerin phases, producing low-grade co-products. “This new process of using enzymes to produce biodiesel will increase yields, decrease waste, and allows producer to use lower cost feedstocks,” says Greg Austic of Piedmont Biofuels. “This groundbreaking technology will create more valuable co-products, and will allow existing producers to double their biodiesel output.” Glycerin, a co-product resulting from the enzymatic process can be used to make a wide variety of products, including bioplastics and solvents.

Piedmont Biofuels operates North Carolina’s premier commercial biodiesel production plant since 2006 and continues to be a leader in alternative fuels through their cutting edge research and design departments.

Contact: Greg Austic
greg@biofuels.coop
PO Box 661
Pittsboro, NC
(919)321-8260

May 6, 2010

Contact Information:  Ben Reckendorf  919-255-8527

Pittsboro, North Carolina;  Carolina Worm Castings announced today that it is acquiring the vermiculture assets and business of Piedmont Biofarm, and moving its operations to Piedmont Biofuels’ Eco Industrial Park.

Ben Reckendorf, president of Carolina Worm Castings, said, “We are excited about this move because it will expand our product offerings.”

Formerly located in Apex, North Carolina, Carolina Worm Castings had outgrown its previous space.  Worm castings are a valuable soil amendment derived by feeding compost, or food scraps to worms.

Ana Maria and Ben sitting on a pallet of worm castings at their new home in Pittsboro.

Piedmont Biofarm was also generating worm castings, but will exit that business to focus on its vegetable production and seed saving endeavors.

“Piedmont’s unique continuous flow digesters were part of the attraction of this deal,” Reckendorf said.  The combined entity will continue to sell castings, and with the expanded space will start selling live worms, vemiculture digesters, and worm composting workshops.

Carolina Worm Castings system is based on African Night Crawlers in batch digesters using compost as feedstock.  Piedmont Biofarm’s system is based on Red Wigglers in continuous flow digesters using pre-consumer food waste as feedstock.  Both systems will be deployed and on display at Piedmont’s Eco Industrial Park.

Piedmont Biofuels’ Eco Industrial Park is on the eastern edge of Pittsboro, and is now home to ten different ecologically minded companies.  It offers free tours to the public every Sunday afternoon at 1:00.

Green Door Design/Build Takes up Residence at Eco Industrial Park

April 12, 2010

Contact Information:  Jeff Gannon 919-842-2304

Pittsboro, North Carolina;  Piedmont Biofuels announced today that Green Door Design/Build has set up operations at its Eco-Industrial Park.

Green Door is an innovative design-build firm owned by Jeff  Gannon and Molly Luby that runs a staff of builders and contractors and has targeted the emerging market for truly “Green Buildings.”

The Abundance Foundation's "Office of the Future" was built by Green Door Design

Their first contact with the Eco Industrial Park came when they built a “sleep shack” for Piedmont Biofarm.  That project expanded to become “The Office of the Future” which is now home to the Abundance Foundation.  “Renewable energy is a core part of our mission,” said Tami Schwerin, Executive Director of Abundance, “So it made sense for us to contract with Green Door.”

The office was built predominately with materials from within 30 miles of Pittsboro, with some of the lumber milled from trees that came from the Eco Park itself.  Solar panels provide enough electricity to power office operations, and the building is heated by a solar wall.  Free tours of the Eco-Park are offered every Sunday at 1:00, and the Office of the Future is a popular attraction.  It has also been toured by participants in Central Carolina Community College’s “Green Building” program.

“We are delighted to be here,” said Molly Luby.  “Our operations outgrew our home space in no time at all.”

Green door design mixes innovative green technologies with local and reclaimed materials to create inventive and affordable residential, commercial, and public spaces.

Piedmont’s President, Lyle Estill, welcomed Green Door to the “family of companies” at the Eco-Industrial Park.  “Everyone here is working on devising a low carbon future for North Carolina, and we find Green Door’s approach to building to be aligned with our endeavors,” Estill said.

One of their latest offerings is a Biodiesel Kit which was designed by Rachel Burton at Piedmont Biofuels. Rachel consulted with Carolina Biological for years on this project.  With her background as an educator, she has developed biodiesel curriculum for the National Center for Appropriate Technology, and for North Carolina’s Community College system, and now this offering from Carolina Biological.

“Education and outreach has been part of Piedmont Biofuels mission from the start,” Burton said.  “It’s exciting to see a kit of this kind come to market.”

Enough about last year. What does 2010 have in store for the local economy?

“I think at best that it will be a year of very slow growth,” says Brad Broadwell, Orange County’s economic development officer. “Some exceptions for moderate growth potential can be found in the areas of health care and in enterprises that drive technology development through federal grants and research dollars or contracts.”

Dianne Reid, president of the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation, notes positive signs too. “Locally, we see some companies expanding hours for their employees, going back to five-day operations, beginning to consider expansion possibilities.”

Some sectors probably won’t experience much improvement. “New construction, retailers selling luxury items and high-end personalized services will continue to struggle,” Reid notes. “Consumers will continue to insist on value and to save more of their earnings than in previous decades. In addition, highly leveraged businesses will continue to struggle because credit has not loosened and is not likely to in the near future.”

So what do local business owners expect? We asked a few to get out their crystal balls and tell us what they foresee for this year.

“I’m sworn to silence about 2010. Not that I’m superstitious, but, yes, I’m superstitious.”
Damon Lapas chef/owner/manager The Barbecue Joint, Chapel Hill

“The summer of 2009 was the slowest time on record for our electrical business, [but] we finished the year struggling to keep up with demand for our services. I predict a busy year in 2010. Gas prices are high and I expect people in our area to be avoiding travel and investing in their homes. I could be wrong about 2010, and if the tough times continue I want to be prepared. Therefore we will resist the temptation to grow the company. We do not plan on hiring more people right now, but we are expanding our services to include more of a focus on solar power, geo-thermal and energy efficiency. We hope that by offering assistance to home and business owners who are interested in investing in long-term energy savings, we can help our company grow while doing our part to keep energy costs down for everyone in our area. Another coal power plant is not the answer.”
Brad Bonneville, owner Bonneville Renovation & Repair LLC, commercial and residential electrical/power contractor, Carrboro

“We are anticipating nice growth in 2010. People may be drinking less-expensive wine, but they are still drinking wine, and our products are a fun and inexpensive way for people to have a fuller wine experience. We have a brand-new website and we will be working to integrate various social media, such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs, into our customer relations.”
Ashley Atkins, Southeastern U.S. regional sales manager Oenophilia, wine accessories and barware wholesaler, Hillsborough

“2010 will be the year that Piedmont Biofuels comes out of ‘startup’ and becomes a full-fledged business. Stand by for solid growth in fuel production. 2010 will also be a high-water year for our research and analytics endeavors, in which we will release a new technology that will change the way biodiesel is manufactured and will eliminate expensive co-products from the equation. We also anticipate growth in our design-build projects. [This] will be the year that our eco-industrial park expands. With nine individual businesses ‘inside the fence’ and an increase in tour traffic, we will see more building permits pulled and more structures rise from the earth.”
Lyle Estill, vice president of stuff Piedmont Biofuels, biodiesel producer, Pittsboro

“I think there will be some improvement in the economy in 2010, albeit gradual. The past 18 months, we have seen declines in sales primarily due to customers having less disposable income. I was in Atlanta at the January Gift show and it was encouraging to see an increase in buying activity. As employment opportunities improve, there should be an uptick in sales, but we will still need to manage our cost of goods sold and watch other expenses. We look forward to hiring additional design staff as the sales improve.”
Charles House, owner University Florist, Chapel Hill

“After an average dip in sales across all 50 states of 30 percent in 2009 and painfully deep expense cuts, we enjoyed a healthy rally in the fourth quarter thanks to special promotions, a national event involving 235 stores and some exciting online activities that promoted our stores. We expect 5 to 10 percent sales growth in 2010 over last year for our VIETRI Outlet Store in Hills-borough (retired and slightly flawed products and samples at discount), our full-service VIETRI retail store in Fearrington, as well as at three very important local customer locations. We’ll increase web-based marketing on www.vietri.com, Facebook and Twitter.
Frances Gravely, co-founder and co-owner VIETRI Inc., importer of Italian handcrafted tabletop and gift products, Hillsborough

“In 2010, we hope to reach out to new customers [with] selective marketing. We also hope for us and all our neighbors here in downtown Carrboro that the new parking space on the old Andrews-Riggsbee property will be a benefit for our businesses. We’re going to be letting new customers and existing ones know that Carrboro has a nice, new public space for parking. We’re putting our best face on for new shoppers who can now get here and park.
Matt Neal, co-owner Neal’s Deli

http://www.carrborocitizen.com/main/2010/01/21/local-biz-owners-forecast-2/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Roland McReynolds, Executive Director, (919) 542-2402 or
roland@carolinafarmstewards.org

Pittsboro Farmer Receives Sustainable Farming Award at Gathering of 500+

The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA) has named this year’s
sustainable agriculture award recipients. The awards were announced
December 5, 2009 at a gathering of over 500 sustainable agriculture
advocates and farmers for the 24th annual CFSA conference in Black
Mountain, NC. These institutions and individuals have shown outstanding
service and helped grow the sustainable food movement in North and South
Carolina into one of the most significant trends in the Carolinas.

The award recipients are:

Farmer of the Year, Doug Jones, Pittsboro, N.C.  Jones was chosen as
Farmer of the Year due to his tireless efforts over many years to create a
year-round local food supply.  He is known for his important plant
breeding work, season extension techniques and his mentorship of many farm
apprentices and interns.  Jones operates Piedmont Biofarm, a sustainable
vegetable farm that uses minimal mechanical equipment, no synthetic
chemical inputs, benevolent pest management practices and locally-made
biodiesel when fuel is required.   Jones has been farming organically in
Chatham County for over 38 years.

Non-profit of the Year, Toxic Free North Carolina, Raleigh, NC. Toxic Free
NC, a statewide grassroots advocacy organization, has been working for
solutions to pesticide pollution in North Carolina since 1986. The
organization’s program initiatives include reducing children’s pesticide
exposure in schools and daycares, reforming state policy to improve
protections for agricultural communities and promoting safer alternatives
to chemically-intensive agriculture. This year, the organization worked
tirelessly to help create North Carolina’s new food policy advisory
council
<http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2009/Bills/Senate/HTML/S1067v2.html> .
They also effectively advocated for funding for the NC Agricultural
Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, a key source of funding
to support our farming way of life.

Business of the Year, Blue Ridge Food Ventures, Enka, NC.  Blue Ridge Food
Ventures (BRFV) provides a processing facility and marketing resources to
food entrepreneurs and local farmers on a rental basis.  The
government-inspected facility provides wet, dry and natural processing
equipment, storage, coolers and freezers. This helps farmers develop
value-added products such as jams, baked goods, sauces, pickles, dips and
condiments. BRFV helps small businesses and family farms to compete in a
larger marketplace and diversify their markets. “This kitchen facility’s
potential is endless…BRFV has enabled me to open a production company
with very little out-of-pocket cost”, says Asheville business owner Kim
Austin.

Activist of the Year, Smithson Mills, Asheville, NC. Smithson Mills has
distinguished himself as a dedicated friend of sustainable farming over
many years.  He has helped to create some of the most successful
agriculture projects in North Carolina and has brought over $2 million in
grants to the state. As director of the Richard L. Hoffman Center for
Assessment and Research Alliances at Mars Hill College, Mills has done
important research in the area of community food security and other farm
issues.   “Mills has been instrumental in pushing regional food security
forward, said Roland McReynolds, CFSA Executive Director.  “We could not
have done this without his hard work and vision.”

Career Achievement Award, Paul Mueller, Raleigh, NC. Dr. Mueller has
devoted his career to agricultural extension, research, and teaching
programs at North Carolina State University. He serves as the Coordinator
for Sustainable Agriculture at the NCSU College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences.  He is also the Coordinator for the Farming Systems Research
Unit  at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems
<http://www.cefs.ncsu.edu/> , based in Goldsboro. He has been instrumental
in applied grassland farming research and has helped to create
agricultural systems that integrate crops and livestock. “Paul is the
vision behind so much that has happened to make sustainable farming viable
in North Carolina.  Long before it was popular, he stood up for ecological
farming and steered the university down a better path of research and
community outreach”, says McReynolds.

North Carolina Cooperative Extension Agent of the Year, Richard Boylan,
Boone, NC. Boylan is a Cooperative Extension Agent for Ashe and Watauga
counties in the High County of North Carolina. A strong and passionate
proponent of sustainable agriculture, he helped jumpstart the area’s
organic farm marketing cooperative, New River Organic Growers. He has
helped local farmers adapt organic farming practices to the climate and
soil conditions of the region and sell their products to consumers across
the state. “Richard has continued to be a wonderful source of assistance
and inspiration for High Country farmers,” said Roland McReynolds, CFSA
Executive Director.

South Carolina Cooperative Extension Agent of the Year, York Glover,
Beaufort, SC.  Glover has been instrumental in creating a rebirth of
healthy, local food in the Coastal Carolinas.  He has helped to establish
several new farmers markets, food processing facilities and training
programs for local farmers. He has started a produce auction in Beaufort
County, modeled on auctions run by Amish farmers in Ohio.  He is
organizing farmers to develop their own small-scale wholesale produce
distributorship and serves on the Advisory Council of the S.C. Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education program (NC SARE), and works with
county governments to promote farm preservation programs.

####

About CFSA: Carolina Farm Stewardship Association is a 26-year-old
non-profit network of over 1,200 members that promotes local organic
agriculture in the Carolinas by inspiring, educating and organizing
farmers and consumers. Our vision is the creation of a regional food
system in the Carolinas that is good for farmers, good for consumers, and
good for the land. To learn more, visit www.carolinafarmstewards.org.
CONTACT:  Roland McReynolds, (919) 542-2402 or mobile (919) 444-3068.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) today announced that Piedmont Biofuels Industrial in Pittsboro will receive a $139,249 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant for innovative clean energy research and development.

“Last year, I visited Piedmont Biofuels and saw firsthand their groundbreaking work in green energy,” Hagan said. “Today’s grant is a critical investment in a North Carolina small business that is helping to ensure that the state is a leader in the sustainable energy economy.”

“Our research staff at Piedmont Biofuels is delighted to partner with the Department of Energy and continue our work in the next generation of biofuels production. At Piedmont Biofuels we are actively evaluating and analyzing materials and technology to bring low-carbon fuels from concept to reality,” said Rachel Burton, Director of Research at Piedmont Biofuels.

Piedmont Biofuels will use the funds to develop advanced biodiesel production processes. These processes will enable biodiesel producers to reduce water usage and waste byproduct, as well as use lower grade feedstocks, such as poultry renderings. The company currently has 19 employees, and it believes the proposed innovation will lead to the hiring of additional research staff. The company’s commercial production facility in Pittsboro produces approximately 4,000 gallons of biodiesel a day using waste poultry fat or used cooking oil.

The Recovery Act funding is part of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which works to increase the participation of small, innovative companies in federally-funded research and development. Hagan, a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, voted to extend the program in July.

Hagan worked with her Senate colleagues to craft the Recovery Act to create and save jobs.