Collective Biodiesel Conference comes to CMC-Breckenridge Aug. 15-18
By Stefanie Kilts
[BRECKENRIDGE] – The Collective Biodiesel Conference, which is returning to Colorado this year, will attract some of the nation’s leading experts, researchers and innovators in the biodiesel industry. But the conference that was first held in 2006 at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo., grew from a very humble beginning.
“There was no real conference for ‘home-brewers’ [of the fuel],” said Graydon Blair, one of the conference founders. “It was just a bunch of people on the internet talking about biodiesel.”
Blair, an expert in small-scale biodiesel brewing and president of Utah Biodiesel Supply, has been involved in the industry since 2003. He said the original conference grew from an idea he and three other biodiesel enthusiasts shared because the only other annual conference catered to larger commercial businesses.
“We wanted to share ideas on a small scale,” he said. “We wanted people to come to a central place and share ideas about biodiesel and what it does, and let others who are doing it share their stories.”
Colorado, Summit County draw organizers back
The conference has also been held in California, British Columbia and Washington, D.C., and has grown in attendees since it started. This year it will be held Aug. 15-18 at Colorado Mountain College in Breckenridge.
Blair said an additional reason to bring the conference back to Colorado is that Summit County is a good example of a community of people making and selling biodiesel.
Summit Greasecycling, a biodiesel business based in Breckenridge, was selected to host the multi-day conference and has partnered with CMC to sponsor the event.
Dara Lor, president and founder of Summit Greasecycling, said when he started his business in 2007, the technology was still being developed. He remembers clearly how he stumbled across the Collective Biodiesel Conference when, a year later, he was researching on the internet.
“I mistyped a word in Google and the Collective Biodiesel Conference came up first in my search,” he said. “It was the next day in Golden.”
So Lor filled his car’s tank with locally made biodiesel, drove to Golden and attended the conference. “I was the guy in the back of the room afraid to raise my hand,” he said.
Lor has since been selected to speak at the conference twice largely because Summit Greasecycling has come up with innovative ideas for producing biodiesel on a small scale. His business has not only simplified the processes to produce biodiesel, but has also found ways to use the by-products of biodiesel to produce industrial cleaners and soaps.
Good fit with CMC’s sustainability program
And since Lor’s business partners with Colorado Mountain College by offering internships, after Lor was asked to host the conference he talked to Robert Cartelli, a CMC business instructor. Cartelli said it seemed like a natural fit to work together, and with the assistance of Jessie Burley, an adjunct instructor in sustainability studies, the college and Summit Greasecycling have collaborated on planning and outreach for the event.
“Because we have the bachelor’s degree in sustainability, CMC is in the perfect position to co-sponsor this conference and to help enhance the relationship between the biodiesel community and our students,” Burley said.
She said the conference not only provides opportunities for people working in the biodiesel industry but allows for CMC students and the public to meet and network with the movers and shakers of the biodiesel community.
One event held specifically for members of the community will a free mixer at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 15, in the lobby of the college’s building in Breckenridge. The mixer will be followed by a film and a biodiesel panel to discuss community energy initiatives.
Lor will also lead a tour of Summit Greasecycling’s facilities, open to all attendees and the public, after the scheduled lectures on Saturday, Aug. 17.
“This conference is a great opportunity to meet the biodiesel community and to exchange ideas and learn more about the technology,” Burley said. “Attendees will learn about everything from small-scale production and closed-loop business practices to big-picture ideas like climate change and sustainable fuels.”
The cost of the full conference, including all lectures, workshops and forums, is $190. CMC students will be admitted for free and all other college students can attend the event for a reduced rate of $50. Individual meal tickets may also be purchased. Early registration is recommended.
For more information or to register for the conference, visit www.collectivebiodieselconference.org.