Lawson for Congress

Piedmont Biofuels is a commercial biodiesel production facility in an industrial park on the outskirts of Pittsboro, NC, located alongside several other like-minded eco-industrial enterprises. Judging from its aesthetically pleasing landscape of brightly colored buildings, acres of green grass and blossoming foliage, the site appears more like a botanical garden or an art space than it does an industrial park.

Although this rural setting provides the park with somewhat of a buffer against the suburban bustle beyond its borders, an active and unique community of ecologically aware individuals each contributing to the creation of an environmentally sustainable lifestyle exists within the fences of this industrial site. Against this idyllic backdrop, Piedmont Biofuels brews more than one million gallons of biodiesel every year.

In addition to producing biodiesel and providing it to the community, a related worker and member owned cooperative promotes the use of clean, renewable biofuels and lobbies local, state and national government on their behalf. It runs a market garden for wholesale and the local farmer’s market, performs oilseed crop research and provides both consultation services to those interested in setting up their own biodiesel businesses and educational services in the form of classes and workshops on biodiesel and alternative fuels. They also offer internships that allow people to live on-site and immerse themselves in all aspects of the operation.

Last Friday, I was invited to accompany Dr. B.J. Lawson to the Piedmont Biofuels Industrial Park to tour the facility and observe the interview that he conducted with the coop’s vice president of stuff, Dr. Lyle Estill, for his public access television program, “Taking the Pulse.”

One of the three founding members of the coop, Dr. Estill is an influential and innovative force in the world of biofuels. For one thing, his plant was only the third in the nation to convert to chicken fat for its biodiesel production (at a time when the majority of plants were using soy oil).

Although Lyle credits his penchant for recycling as well as his ingrained environmental inclinations as the primary inspiration for his foray into the world of alternative fuels, his various stints in industries as diverse as computer technology and studio artistry also have guided his thinking and continue to inform the way in which Piedmont Biofuels is operated.

When we met Dr. Estill, he was busy giving a tour of the Industrial site as he does on the first Friday of every month. He invited us to join the group for the last leg of the tour followed by a Question and Answer session before giving us a private tour of the grounds and sitting down for a talk with Dr. Lawson.

Dr. Estill began the tour by showing us the apparatuses that comprise the plant’s infrastructure. As we strolled past tanks, reactors, and processors, he frequently stopped to give fascinating and detailed explanations of how the machinery operate in concert to produce biodiesel. His enthusiasm and passion for the operation were evident in his explanations.

As the tour progressed, we were given the opportunity to observe the operations of several of the other eco-industrial enterprises that the Industrial site houses, including Screech’s Greenhouse and the worm bed.

Within the 60ft. hydroponics greenhouse, we saw rows upon rows of giant lettuce heads that Screech has grown for sale both at the local farmer’s market and to Eco Organics, an on-site farm coop charged with remaking the industrial park’s food shed.

Upon entering the greenhouse, we also immediately noticed a long, covered crib. As we peered inside the crib, we quickly realized that this structure contained the worm bed. Powered entirely by food waste, the bed is home to countless worms that busily decompose the site’s fine paper waste. Using food waste produced by Chatham Marketplace, this vermiculture enterprise is set to expand into its own business.

Our visit to Piedmont Biofuels culminated in a “Local Lunch,” in which Dr. Estill generously invited us to partake. Held every Friday, the Local Lunch brings together the coop’s staff to share a meal prepared using only ingredients grown by local farmers.

On this particular Friday, we had the pleasure of sampling an array of delectable dishes from ginger salad to bean salad to tomato and cucumber salad, all made from some of the freshest food that I had ever tasted. Just as enjoyable as the fare were the conversations that I engaged in with the staff and interns that I sat alongside.

The equipment and methods that Piedmont Biofuels employs to create biofuel proved to be very fascinating. However, the people that I met during our visit made an even greater impression on me. Their passion and dedication both to the coop and to the environmentally sustainable lifestyle that the coop encourages was at once admirable and infectious.

In his latest book, Small is Possible: Life in a Local Economy, Dr. Estill writes, “In my 25 years in business, my people have always been my most important asset.” The same value should be placed on people in communities. Although the importance of financial capital and infrastructure should not be dismissed, Piedmont Biofuels is a great example of what happens when people are nurtured as a community’s most valuable resource.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 9:53 pm and is filed under environmentalism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.