Grays Harbor plant

The Grays Harbor, Wash., biodiesel refinery being opened by Imperium Renewables. The 12-acre facility will be capable of churning out 100 million gallons of biodiesel by the end of the year, the company says.

Imperium wants to build three copycat plants over the next 18 months. When it comes to total diesel consumption, 100 million gallons is a drop in the bucket, but it's a start. Besides, Imperium, run by the rather imperial Martin Tobias, says it can produce biodiesel cheaper than competitors.