Sapphire Energy's planned biofuel refinery in Luna County will use water responsibly, the company says.

Tim Zenk, vice president of corporate affairs for the San Diego-based alternative fuel developer, said the facility's operations will resemble that of a rice paddy.

"Sort of an open pond setting," he said. "If you can imagine what a rice paddy looks like, but with much more technology."

In a nutshell, the facility will grow algae within ponds to refine into fuel. The planned open ponds at the facility has sparked concern among some locals on the chance for an ideal mosquito breeding ground. Zenk hopes to put those concerns down.

"We have a 100 acre facility up and running in Las Cruces with many acres of ponds; We have found zero mosquito issues with water," he said. "Mosquitoes dislike salt water very much."

He said mosquitoes -- which can carry various diseases -- are not attracted to the type of water to be used. The facility will use high-salinity, brackish water that Zenk said is not suitable for agricultural use or human consumption.

"From a processing standpoint, there is zero waste," he said, noting the water is 100-percent recycled throughout the process. "It's a complete closed-loop system."

Evaporation will force Sapphire to make adjustments to keep water levels stable.

He added: "We are very conscientious of waste."

Sapphire has 1,600 acres of water rights on 2,200 acres of land that they have an option to purchase. He said his company is in the final stages of negotiating an agreement with the landowner, a private citizen. He said he is not aware of any talks with Luna County government to purchase all or a portion of the county-owned 300-acre Sunnyside Farms. The property was the subject of action by the Luna County Board of Commissioners to rescind the sale. Commissioners later decided to stop pursuing the initiative.

Commission Chairman Javier Diaz said the county has supplied Sapphire with information on the farm and has engaged in "preliminary talks," but said nothing is certain and the process is lengthy.

"The farm that he has was at one point a cotton farm, but the land has gone fallow," Zenk said of the property upon which Sapphire will build the demonstration facility.

The demonstration facility will show, according to Zenk, that the process can be carried out economically and will be sustainable. He said the project is "green" in "every way shape or form."

"One of the things that we'll be looking at, how to reduce evaporative loss," he explained. "While there is no question about the fact that water does evaporate whether you put it on land or in the pond, the way we are constructing the ponds -- the depth and the amount of energy that is consumed by the water itself -- reduces the evaporative loss as a whole. You wouldn't see evaporative rates as you would normally see in standing water on your doorstep, for example."

The facility is expected to create about 750 direct and indirect jobs throughout the course of the project, he said, with 30 full-time "highly-skilled" jobs to be directly associated with it.

"All of the jobs will come from the community," he added.

He said residents should expect to see activity soon and that the ground breaking is expected by the end of the year.

"We're very much looking forward to being good neighbors," he said.