At a critical bend in the Columbia River estuary, a company called NEXT Renewable Fuels, Inc., wants to build a renewable diesel refinery. The proposed refinery at Port Westward would be one of the largest producers of renewable diesel on the West Coast. While renewable diesel may sound like a promising sustainable form of energy, the process of converting feedstocks into a diesel fuel demands power, fracked gas, and water and would damage the sensitive ecosystem of wetlands and farmlands that it impacts.
On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Erin Saylor, staff attorney with Columbia Riverkeeper along with Columbia County activist Jasmine Lillich about why Riverkeeper and Columbia County farmers are raising alarms about this project.
Learn more about how to stop NEXT Renewable Fuels. You can check out Columbia Riverkeeper's Website as well.
- KBOO