A pioneer in the biodiesel industry in Hawaii will talk about energy at a lecture in Kona next week. This article from BigIslandNow.com says Kelly King, vice president and co-founder of Pacific Biodiesel Technologies, will speak next Wednesday, March 19 at the NELHA Gateway Visitor Center in Keahole.
King, the company’s director of marketing and communications, has helped develop 13 biodiesel plants in the US and Japan, including one on Oahu and another which opened in 2012 in Keaau.
Company officials say the Keaau plant uses the most up-to-date technology to generate up to 5.5 million gallons of biodiesel annually.
Since its founding, Pacific Biodiesel has been involved in all aspects of the biodiesel business, from fuel-crop research and waste oil collection to fuel processing, quality management, and distribution. The company designs, owns, builds and operates scalable, multiple-feedstock biodiesel plants utilizing used cooking oil, yellow grease, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, tallow and other feedstocks.
Several years ago, Kelly partnered with actress Daryl Hannah and Willie and Annie Nelson to found the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance, a national nonprofit organization developing a certification process for sustainable biodiesel practices.
This lecture is part of the Hawaii Energy Resource Center’s five-part Exceptional Energy Lecture Series.