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| The company aims to have the biodiesel plant running by fall 2008 and says it will produce 320 million gallons of biodiesel fuel per year.
(rendering Courtesy of Smiling Earth Energy LLC) |
By Mike Saewitz
The Virginian-Pilot
Chesapeake
Drawings of the proposed biodiesel plant beg the question: What kind of chemical process requires building two glimmering domes,
It turns out the breathtaking domes depicted in renderings are purely for show. According to company officials, the domes won't have anything to do with making biodiesel fuel.
But the lighted domes reflect the company's glitzy aspirations. Smiling Earth officials have said their Chesapeake plant will make 320 million gallons of biodiesel fuel per year, more than the entire amount produced in the United States in 2006. They intend to build the plant and have it running by fall 2008, which some people consider an impossible turnaround.
The City Council recently approved a height increase that would allow Smiling Earth to build the domed buildings to 100 feet, taller than the 75-foot limit.
They would be slightly shorter than City Hall on Cedar Road, which is about 120 feet tall.
The domes would be built over Smiling Earth's processing buildings, which would be closest to the Elizabeth River's Southern Branch, according to city reports.
"Smiling Earth Energy is an innovative company that uses technology with plans to lead the industry in the production of biodiesel," C. Raeford Eure, the company's Portsmouth representative, told the City Council on Oct. 16.
With the domes, Smiling Earth has shown that it also wants to top the flash that has gone into some recently built biodiesel plants. In August, Imperium Renewables, a Seattle-based company, unveiled a new look for its Washington biodiesel plant, believed to be the country's biggest.
But some have shrugged off Smiling Earth's snazzy look as alt-fuel pipe dreams.
"It's kind of like the Epcot of biodiesel," said Chesapeake's Dave Thomas.
Mike Saewitz (757) 222-5207, mike.saewitz@pilotonline.com
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A ruse is a ruse is a ruse.......
What else can we expect from Smirking Earth? Once again, this company is mock-ing the City of Chesapeake and its Council. Perhaps, when the smoking mirrors settle, Chesapeake City Council will realize they're being taken by "businesses" who boast huge claims and big boons for the city. If it looks too good to be true then.....
Take a lesson from this experience and don't make the same mistake with IBE and the ethanol promisers. They have continually contridicted themselves on what should be clear, concise facts! Visualize cracked, dry riverbeds, dangerous air emissions which prompt major evacuations of schools and communties, and vote no on November 20th! 55, 000+ students are in a 17.5 mile land radius of the proposed ethanol plant.
Smiling Earth will use Chesapeake to scam investors
by approving this project, Chesapeake has become complicit in a scam. SE will point to the city's approval as proof that they are actually going to build something. This will intice investors to invest. When SE gets enough investment money in its offshore account it will abscond. Investors will thank Chesapeake for giving credibility to this incredible company.
Edge,Hayes,Willis and Parker, must be replaced!!!!
These types of votes are re-occurring on a more frequent basis here in Cesapeake. Think about it,we the citizens must remove every council member up for re-election,until we get, the right mix of citizens on our city council, who are willing to put the concerns of citizens first. It's disturbing to see business interest and money put above the public safety, health and welfare of us an our children. May 08' is a time for change in Chesapeake. How can city council members approve large projects like this without fully researching the company and fully investigating the health,enviornmental and traffic impact on the city and citizens. They have got to be removed from office. We can do better. Change is a positive step forward for our city!
Do Nothing Domes
This story keeps getting curiouser and curiouser the farther down the rabbit hole we go. If this is the "Epcot of Biodiesel" perhaps it should more appropriately be built in Fantasyland, next to the Alice in Wonderland ride. Even the name, "Smiling Earth", reminds me of the Cheshire Cat who would disappear, leaving nothing but its smile. Who designed this thing anyway, the Imagineers?
Geez....you are kidding, right?
They are still considering going ahead with this?
The shell game
Just another illusion created by this company. 1st we have a convicted drug dealer heading the deal, 2nd the company is paying $5 mill in hush money to the community, 3rd the company skips out on paying back money on a project they have not complted, 4th the company cannot pay rent in the space they are in. Now we come to learn that the domes are really like to shells in a shell game, covering what essentially is an oil refinery. What do you think will be the very first thing value engineered from the project? The domes. Followed by the $5 million to the community. Wake up Chesapeake!!!