According to the company, the plant debugging had just been completed and the facility was beginning to ramp up production after its original startup in mid-June 2008, prior to the damages caused by the hurricane.
The company expects to continue its use of 100% animal fats as its primary feedstock, although the GreenHunter BioFuels refinery is feedstock neutral and has used five different varieties of feedstock to date.
Previously, the Company had stated that it anticipated most of the damage sustained by its wholly-owned subsidiary, GreenHunter BioFuels, would be covered by existing property and casualty insurance along with business interruption insurance. For all repairs completed to this point, GreenHunter has utilized its working capital to fund the cost of the repairs prior to receipt of any of the significant amounts presently due from the Company’s various existing insurance carriers.
Gary Evans, chairman, president, and CEO of GreenHunter Energy, said: “The renewable fuels industry faces a challenging environment in which crude oil has fallen from $145 per barrel to $55 per barrel today. Even though we have experienced a decline in the price of our finished product, producing biodiesel from animal fats continues to make economic sense and is a financially viable business.”
