The Spanish alternative fuel company Biodiesel de Andalucia (BIDA) plans to inaugurate an $11 million biodiesel plant near the Caribbean port of Limón in December, BIDA president Cristóbal García announced Friday.

The company is in the process of acquiring permits to build the plant, which will occupy 1.6 hectares of a lot seven kilometers from Limón, García told the daily La Nación. BIDA plans to hire 35 people to work at the plant and anticipates that an additional 300 jobs will be created indirectly for those providing services to the plant.

Additionally, BIDA already has agreements with producers around Limón and the Central Valley who will provide prime material for the biodiesel plant.

Biodiesel is produced by burning fats and oils from animal and vegetable sources such as sunflowers and palm. Other sources are being investigated, according to a statement from BIDA.

Biofuels are important in today’s world because “the main ecological problems of the planet stem from global warming produced by burning fossil fuels,” García said.

The benefit of this alternative fuel is a reduction in harmful emissions and better efficiency for diesel engines. Biodiesel produces 80% less pollutants than conventional diesel fuel, and it can be used by any diesel motor, explained García, who gave a lecture last week at Universidad Nacional’s (UNA) Tropical Science Center.

The center plans to use the new biodiesel plant to research methods of abstracting methanol, or wood alcohol, from forest debris and vegetable biomass, La Nación reported.