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A year ago, I was telling you about how Imperium Renewables was opening a 100-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant in Grays Harbor, Washington (near Seattle) and how just the week before that announcement Imperium had inked a deal to provide 18 million gallons of the green fuel a year for the next four years to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

But what a difference a year makes, as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that a series of missteps by the company has resulted in Royal Caribbean canceling that long-term contract and Imperium continuing its downward spiral:

The loss of the contract with Royal Caribbean – Imperium’s largest customer – is a huge setback. And it follows a series of events over the past eight months – including the cancellation of an initial public offering, staff layoffs and executive departures – that highlight the troubles facing the one-time rising star in Seattle’s clean tech industry.

A spokesman for Imperium also declined to comment.

This latest development raises some serious questions about the future of Imperium and the Grays Harbor refinery, which was the nation’s largest biodiesel plant in the nation when it opened a year ago.

A company that turns leftover turkey parts into biodiesel has made a $100-million initial public offering as the company goes public.

This story from SustainableBusiness.com says West Hempstead, N.Y.-based Changing World Technologies, Inc. sells biodiesel and organic fertilizers that it produces from animal and food processing waste:

The company is noted for financial backing by the owners of the New York Mets and also for a plant in Carthage, Missouri that takes roughly 250 tons of carcasses daily from the ConAgra Butterball turkey factory and turns them into fertilizer and diesel fuel for heating oil.

Changing World Technologies is funded by Apex Capital, ConAgra, Stonehill Capital and the venture capital unit of Fred Wilpon’s Sterling Equities. Mr. Wilpon is chairman and principal owner of the Mets.

A full three-quarters of all the biodiesel produced in the U.S. now meets the important BQ-9000 certification… a standard that couples the foundations of universally accepted quality management systems with the product specification ASTM D 6751, and has become the premier quality designation in the industry.

This press release from the National Biodiesel Board says six companies picked up the certification this week… the largest group to ever achieve the quality standard at one time:

“BQ-9000 companies dominate the industry with 75% of biodiesel produced in the US, which is a huge achievement,” said Leland Tong, Chairman of the National Biodiesel Accreditation Commission which is the governing body for the BQ-9000 program. “I think that demonstrates the market power of BQ-9000.”

A 2008 study by Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) shows the biodiesel industry has achieved a high degree of success in meeting national fuel quality standards. The study demonstrated that plants certified under BQ-9000 fared the best. BQ-9000 producers consistently hit the mark, no matter how large or small the plant.

The six that just made the certification include biodiesel marketer Downs Company of Corona, Calif.; Piedmont Biofuels of Pittsboro, N.C.; Beacon Energy Corp. of Cleburne, Texas ; Lake Erie Biofuels of Erie, Pa.; Paseo Cargill Energy of Kansas City, Mo.; and Ag Processing Inc. (AGP) of St. Joseph, Mo.

Music and a message will be what goes from the West Coast to the East Coast as the biodiesel-powered Green Train is set to make a tour across the country this coming April.

Biodiesel Magazine reports some of music’s superstars will be aboard:

The train will include two flatbed concert stage cards. During the six-week tour the train will stop in seven major cities where country music performer and songwriter Merle Haggard, along with other musicians, will perform. They will also hold dozens of small-town whistle stop acoustic performances. Other artists and celebrities who have pledged their support for the Green Train include Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Cher, The Dave Matthews Band, Collective Soul, Jewel, John Mayer, and The Indigo Girls.

Chugging through 28 states, the train’s concerts and acoustic performances will be powered using biodiesel-fed generators as well as other renewable energy sources. Concerts will be held in Portland, Ore.; Denver; Chicago; New Orleans; Charlotte, N.C.; New York; and Washington, D.C. As well, to date acoustic performances are scheduled in Sacramento, Calif.; Memphis, Tenn.; Atlanta; and Boston.

Word is that the train is planning a European tour in 2011.

The city beaches and streets in Long Beach, California are going to be kept clean by using a greener fuel.

This story from the Long Beach Post-Telegram says biodiesel is the fuel of choice, debuted during a news conference hosted by Mayor Bob Foster and Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal:

In all, some 200 vehicles are part of the initial transition, and Foster and Lowenthal were on hand to showcase 10 vehicles used in beach maintenance that use the biodiesel blend as fuel.

Carlos V. Velasquez, acting manager of the fleet service bureau of Public Works, said that the fleet that’s been introduced to the new biodiesel program includes skip loaders, tractors, dump trucks, and vehicles used by street maintenance, gas department and Parks, Recreation and Marine workers.

The article goes on to say that besides biodiesel, the city’s “Green Fleet” is also being changed out to run on natural gas, propane, as well as electric and hybrid vehicles.