A couple of days ago, I told you about how San Francisco Bay would be home to a fast ride around the bay on a biodiesel-powered boat. Now, it looks like the boat won’t have to go far to get the fuel it needs to make the quick journey.

San Francisco Port Commissioners have approved construction of a $10 million plant biodiesel plant at the site of an old rendering facility that will turn fats, waste grease, and tallow into 7.5-10 million gallons of the green fuel a year. This post on inhabitat.com has details:

San Francisco’s proposed biodiesel plant would be situated within on old rendering facility in the Hunter’s Point district owned by Darling International. Under the plan the facility will be renovated to turn grease waste into useable, sustainable energy. Although the agreement has not yet been signed, it is expected that the city will purchase the fuel to cut down on shipments from the Midwest while feeding San Francisco’s biodiesel fleet of 1,500 vehicles.

Last week, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced the deal, pending the approval of the port commissioners:

“This facility will serve as a model for cities throughout the world who aim to reduce their carbon footprint and transform their grease waste into useable, sustainable energy,” said Mayor Newsom. “Turning waste generated by local restaurants and other businesses into a sustainable fuel source is yet another major step in reaching our goals of carbon neutrality for City Government by 2020, zero emission public transit by 2020, a 75% recycling rate by 2010, and zero waste in 2020.”