In a move that CEO John Plaza called "painful," Imperium Renewables today said that it has laid off 24 workers at its Grays Harbor biodiesel plant. The news of the layoffs comes a little more than a year after the massive facility opened on the Washington coast to the fanfare of politicians and economic development officials.

Plaza said in a statement:

“This is an extremely painful step to take, given our employees’ dedication to the company and to the greater cause of reducing our dependency on fossil fuels. Today’s announcement is an unfortunate, but necessary, step given the current economic environment as well as the lagging demand for our product. These are difficult choices that will allow Imperium to survive and grow when the market turns around for the biofuels industry. We understand this is a difficult blow to the Grays Harbor community. We remain committed to Grays Harbor and are doing everything we can to reverse the course our industry has taken.”

Last August, I reported that Imperium had lost a key contract to supply about 18 million gallons of fuel each year for Royal Caribbean Cruises. As part of that deal, Royal Caribbean also sold its stake in the $78 millin plant. At one point, the company had called the deal the largest biodiesel contract in the country. Imperium also scrapped plans for a new plant in Hawaii.

Imperium hit a rough patch over the past 18 months with loss of its CEO, a canceled IPO and the meltdown of the the biodiesel and credit markets. The loss of jobs in Grays Harbor is especially tough, since state leaders had touted the facility as the future of the clean tech business in an economically depressed area of the state.

In January 2008, Imperium employed 107 people. But after a series of layoffs, the company is now a shell of its former self.

UPDATE: Spokesman John Williams said that the layoffs represent "more than half of the staff," but he declined to provide the specific number. Some employees remain at the plant, but he would not elaborate when asked if there were enough workers to keep producing biodiesel there.