In last week’s blog I began a discussion about finding viable business opportunities in the move toward alternative fuel sources as we move away from our current degree of dependence upon fossil fuels.  In the blog I attempted to make the point that our free market can reward innovators and entrepreneurs who are ready to take advantage of emerging market demand.

 

I believe Biodiesel now presents such an opportunity! History shows that at critical junctures or points of disruption in the means of manufacturing or form of energy, innovators who were ready first with the new alternatives were the ones who benefited most form the changes, while also meeting social needs (demand) for new products.

 

For example, discovery and processing of oil moved the market away from coal and made conversion to the automotive age feasible. I’m sure some skeptics of the time doubted if the horse could or should be displaced as a primary means of power and transportation but after automobiles became common, city dwellers probably didn’t miss having to be concerned with horse manure in the streets. Similarly, some can take the position that since we are a nation of fossil fuel consumers the energy market and infrastructure can’t be reoriented. However, I’m convinced that innovators will emerge and today’s skeptics will be obliged to change their tune. Think of Standard Oil and a plethora of other examples.

 

I encourage you to consider biodiesel production as a business opportunity. In a nutshell, biodiesel can be produced by a largely passive manufacturing process with only a small amount of energy required for its manufacture, contrast this with ethanol which requires a larger amount of energy to be expended curing production. Biodiesel is produced using readily available commodities as input (animal or vegetable oils and feedstock) and producing only glycerin as a byproduct.

 

There are a number of large biodiesel initiatives underway, including a large operation in Dade City, Florida, using the facilities of an abandoned Orange Juice concentrate plant. Please see the following link for additional information:

 

 

I believe the future rewards the willing and ready.