Port of Walla Walla 2007 Newsletter

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Carbon sequestration test planned in Walla Walla County

Success could attract clean energy investment at Port’s Wallula Gap Business Park
   Some time next year (2008), scientists will inject approximately 5,000 tons of liquid CO deep into the ground in western Walla Walla County as part of a pilot project that could change the way the world manages energy plants.
   Dr. Peter McGrail and other researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory who are conducting the “carbon sequestration” experiment predict that after time the material will mineralize and remain safely more than 3,500 feet under the surface.
   The test at the Wallula Gap Business Park, owned by the Port of Walla Walla, is a continuation of studies that McGrail has been involved in for the past decade. “This will allow us to address questions about the process that can’t be answered in the lab,” he explains.
   McGrail emphasizes that chances of the carbon dioxide having any impact on existing resources are “virtually nil.”
   Once the injection is complete, he said the project will be carefully monitored to protect elements underground, including potable water, and above-ground populated areas such as the nearby Boise paper plant.
   Once the experiment is completed, McGrail says the site will be restored to pre-test conditions.
   “If the test proves that carbon dioxide sequestration is a viable process the implications are worldwide,” explains Port of Walla Walla Commissioner Fred Bennett.
   While some will argue that the process is a long shot when it comes to cleaning up coal-fired power plants and stabilizing greenhouse gases, McGrail maintains the Wallula tests could shape the future of carbon dioxide sequestration.
   “If it’s going to work, it’s going to work here,” he said. “That’s the bottom line.”

This conceptualization illustrates elements involved in the Wallula field test. A proposed plant to convert coal into synthetic gas would mitigate its greenhouse gas emissions by capturing carbon dioxide given off during the conversion process, liquefying it, then pumping it underground, where it would react with the bedrock to create calcium carbonate.

Railex success leads to plans for a second weekly train

   Since its first train left Walla Walla County in mid-2006, Railex’s weekly non-stop service between Burbank and Rotterdam, N.Y. has been a shipping success.
   In little more than a year, the innovative company has grown its original 55-car trains weekly to as many as 65 and 70 during peak weeks.
   “We were 85-percent full this past year,” says Jim Kleist, Railex general manager for Washington. “If we continue growing the way we want to, we’ll be sending a second train by the first of 2008.”
   Already, Railex has created full- and part-time employment for more than 70 people and added job opportunities are expected as the company expands its service.
   Kleist said the variety of commodities loaded at Burbank has expanded from potatoes, onions and apples to include oranges, pears, wine, a variety of vegetables and nursery stock.

As many as 200 trucks from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Canada visit the Railex complex each week to transfer their loads to the gigantic temperature controlled warehouse where the products await their five-day trip in refrigerated rail cars.
While original plans suggested that the “return trains” would be empty, Kleist says an increasing number of the cars are coming back to Burbank filled with items destined for West Coast markets. Fruit juices, beer, frozen foods and import products are among them.

Railex Washington Manager Jim Kleist says Railex’s biggest “surprise” has been shipments of fresh nursery stock from Oregon’s Willamette Valley to New York. This pallet of fresh Holiday greens is ready to go. Photo by Donna Lasater

    Looking to a future that could see three orfour Railex trains out of Burbank each week, Kleist explains that growth will depend on the firm’s readiness to meet the demands of the market.
    “We’ve already overcome a huge learning curve,” Kleist explains. “Compared to a year ago, we understand a lot more about what’s being shipped and designing loads to increase capacity and efficiency.”
    The $58-million Railex project, funded by a private-public partnership that included the Port of Walla Walla, was in 2006 selected by Washington Governor Chris Gregoire for the Governor’s Award for Best Practices in Economic Development.

Railex Burbank shipping center.

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