Sapphire Energy photo
Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin
By Marvin Tessneer
Sapphire Energy has started construction on pond structures eight miles west of Columbus, N.M., in Luna County to produce algae for what is known in the industry as green crude, which can be refined into fuel. AMEC, the prime contractor, is putting up structures that will contain 100 acres of ponds to grow algae, also known as “pond scum,” for green crude.
“This is the first phase of our plan to build 300 acres of a green crude production field,” said Bryn Davis operations manager at the Las Cruces Sapphire office. “This will affect fuel production in New Mexico and ultimately throughout the world.”
Sapphire uses the intense desert sunlight and groundwater to produce the algae. The company owns water rights it acquired with the desert land it has purchased. Since the water is saline, the green crude production will not compete with agriculture, Davis said.
Petroleum is 200 million to 300 million year- old algae that is pumped out of the ground, according to Stephen Mayfield, a Sapphire researcher based from San Diego.
Mayfield was a key player during the startup of Sapphire Energy, Davis said.
“Algae already make oil that looks like crude oil,” Mayfield said. “The oil we extract from algae goes directly into a refinery and gets converted into diesel or gasoline.”
“We’re on line to start producing algae in Luna County at the end of next summer,” Davis said. “That’s the goal, but it’s always changing and progressing.”
When asked how long it would take until drivers would be able to fill their storage tanks with algae biofuel, Mayfield said, “We’re probably 10 years away. Many scientists said the biofuel is worth the wait because there will not be much choice as the world’s population increases along with the need for oil.”
The green crude possibilities are so promising, the federal government and venture capitalists are investing millions of dollars in the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, where Mayfield is the director.
The facility has received a $4 million state grant to train workers in the biofuel industry, Mayfield said in a Sapphire news release.
Algae grow fast in ample sunlight and small amounts of water. It can produce about 5,000 gallons of fuel per acre in a year. The best places to produce the green crude are deserts in New Mexico and the algae research farm in Imperial Valley, Calif. where the land is cheap and doesn’t compete with food production, Mayfield said.
“The enormous advantage that we have is, unlike corn, when you can get one crop a year, which is used to make ethanol, we can get one crop a week,” Mayfield said.
Green crude critics argue that algae-oil is too expensive, putting the cost at $24 per gallon.
“Technology and innovation will drive the price down while gas prices will continue to rise,” Mayfield said. “Within a decade, algae will be a less expensive fuel and the answer to independence from foreign oil. The country that controls energy controls the world. If we can’t find a domestic source for energy to power this country, we will have serious economic problems in the next 10 to 20 years.”
Sapphire also operates a series of research and development ponds in the West Mesa Industrial Park that covers more than 2 acres. The research on the West Mesa in going into the second full summer, Davis said.
