Fuel for thought: Entrepreneurs make a go at biodiesel production

BAINBRIDGE – Someday Rob Reiber hopes to see a biodiesel plant in every town in Chenango County.

For now, the Binghamton native is content with running the one he and his wife Sue recently opened on Scott Street in the Village of Bainbridge.

“Hopefully this leads to one in every town – and we can do that,” said Reiber, who calls his operation Creative Energy Group LLC. “It’s local fuel for local people.”

Creative Energy opened June 10, and is currently processing virgin soy bean oil into 100 percent and 99.9 percent biodiesel. The company declined to say how much they produced daily or weekly, due to competitive reasons.

The concept driving Creative Energy – which is also its biggest challenge – is creating a county-wide alternative energy cooperative, Reiber and plant manager Giff Foster say, in which local farmers would grow fuel crops on marginal lands and exchange them for low cost fuel produced at the plant.

“We figure if they’ll grow the crop, than we’ll turn it into low-cost fuel for them,” Reiber said.

Locally, however, there is no equipment that can crush the crops into unrefined oil, which is what Creative Energy needs to make the more affordable biodiesel.

“That’s our biggest bottleneck,” said Foster, a South Plymouth Farmer who also processes biodiesel at his home.

Relying on shipped-in soybean oil – at a cost over $3.40 per gallon – Reiber and Foster say business hasn’t been slow. The pair claim they’ve been steadily processing batches four days a week to meet the demand, selling their bio-diesel at a cost of $4 per gallon.

John Hendricks, one of Creative Energy’s customers, doesn’t mind paying the extra price – he’s even consulting with Creative Energy to start his own operation.