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Let's face it, renewable energy is here in Louisiana to stay.  With the wind power in Oklahoma being tapped by SWEPCO and sent to homes right here in the Shreveport - Bossier City area, and more solar panels going on houses everyday - it's safe to say that at least our corner of Louisiana is embracing alternative sources of energy.

If you aren't a big fan of this kind of progress, maybe you're worried about the jobs we'll lose across the state if the oil business ever takes a hit due to other forms of energy becoming more popular, less expensive, easier to obtain, etc.  What if we could have a significant number of well-paying jobs in Louisiana and environmentally-conscious renewable energy?

According to the latest report from the Advocate, a Kansas biofuels company is about to give us our energy cake and let us eat it too!   Construction is already underway on Strategic Biofuels billion-dollar 'green diesel' plant about 25 miles south of Monroe. The facility should be operational by 2025 - but it has already started contributing to the economy by adding jobs for the construction.

Speaking of jobs, the project (dubbed "Louisiana Green Fuels") is slated to bring around 100 permanent jobs and hundreds of construction jobs over the next 4 years.  This green beast is expected to produce 32 million gallons of renewable fuels by harnessing the stored power found in waste from nearby logging operations.  According to Strategic Biofuels website, the plant is fueled by "thinnings, along with the branches, pine needles and treetops, known as slash."

I don't know about you, but this is blowing my mind.  With the right equipment, you could theoretically run your entire logging and lumber operation of off the waste from your logging and lumber operation!  The science goes way deeper than that.  The company plans to collect any carbon made in the process and inject it into the earth, all so it doesn't end up in the air as a "green house gas."

This whole project stinks of earth-loving, job creating, vehicle-fueling awesomeness and I am all about it!

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