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What started as a project to brew biodiesel in some old pots from the school cafeteria has turned into a 100,000-gallon-a-year production line that saves the school an estimated $125,000 a year in fuel costs.

This story in the Charlotte (NC) Observer says two years ago, the Gaston County Schools started making their own biodiesel from leftover grease from a local cracker factory, school cafeterias, and local restaurants and is the first school district in the state to make its own fuel:

“Grady [Truett, the schools’ assistant transportation director] came to us and said, `I can make diesel,’ ” said Transportation Director Baxter Starr. Starr smiled in disbelief, but he listened. And he supported the idea.

The department has taken on the fuel-making without adding extra employees, Starr said. Next year, Starr may ask the administration for another person to run a second production shift.

The article goes on to say that Truett was able to find the biodiesel brewing equipment for cheap on the Internet and through old military surplus and other equipment… saving the district even more.

Now that’s what I call a quality education!

Jessica Kelly, maker of the documentary “Revolution Green: A True Story of Biodiesel in America,” returned to her alma mater, the University of Colorado, for a screening this past weekend of her movie.

In a story from Boulder’s (CO) Daily Camera, Kelly explains that a year ago on Thanksgiving she was at Willie Nelson’s home, and the oil used to fry the turkeys was turned into fuel for her ride home. Her film introduces biodiesel maker Bob King:

A decade ago, King chose to solve a grease overflow problem at Maui’s landfill. He now has turned that grease waste into biodiesel fuel and built 10 biodiesel plants across the country.

After the free-screening on the Colorado campus, Kelly held a biodiesel question-and-answer session.

“Really, our main focus is we want people to learn about biodiesel after watching the film and realize that one person can make a difference,” Kelly said.

A plan to build a 75-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant has received approval from the Clovis, New Mexico City Commission.

This AP story from television station KOB says the plant will make biodiesel from animal fat:

The agreement is with an Australian company that plans to build a biodiesel plant near the eastern New Mexico community.

The firm expects to begin construction in March on the facility in the park south of Clovis.