Aberdeen, the depressed timber town most notable recently as the home of Kurt Cobain, is hoping for economic revival based on renewable energy.

After shriveling with the timber and fishing industries, the town recently broke ground on the country’s largest biodiesel plant, which is supposed to make 100 million gallons of fuel a year from farm crops. Seattle-based Imperium Renewables says its plant will employ 300 during construction and 65 full-time when it opens next year, according a Tim Egan article in the New York Times.

The hope is that the plant will attract related renewable-energy technology. The town previously pinned its hopes on logging more of the remaining stands of nearby old-growth forest, expanding exports to Asia through the harbor and on the now-mothballed nuclear power plant nearby. Meanwhile Weyerhaeuser recently closed two mills in the area, costing a few hundred more jobs.

The price of traveling by ferry in Cascadia continues to rise as government funding fails to keep pace with demand.

This week, fares on B.C. Ferries’ major routes to Vancouver Island rose 2.8 percent and fares on smaller routes in the Gulf Islands climbed 4.4 percent. Commercial rates are expected to rise next month. Fares already increased earlier this year to cover then-rising fuel costs.

Meanwhile Washington State Ferries, which increased fares by 6 percent in March, is considering another hike of 5 to 20 percent. This month the system will start charging for wi-fi Internet access, a service used by thousands of commuters. It will soon cost $29.95 a month.

It’s unclear why ferry users are expected to pay directly for for transportation infrastructure while drivers get free use of the region’s clogged roads. B.C.’s transportation minister said the increases won’t affect the economy and dismissed complaints, saying people will adjust.

While many around the region worry that schools aren’t churning out enough engineers and scientists, a new university in British Columbia has a novel approach: developing people who can think critically.

The Quest University plans to open next fall in Squamish, with a multidisciplinary approach evenly split between sciences and arts. The backers say the liberal arts curriculum and close access to teachers will make it unique in Canada.

“I don’t want to say everybody who comes out of a big institution is just a professional robot,” one of the backers told the Globe and Mail. “But real intellectual exploration happens when you’re interacting, and I do spend a lot of time working one-on-one in small groups with my students.”

Alaska Airlines, Cascadia’s dominant carrier, this week added a series of new nonstop flights to Mexico. More are likely on the way.

The airline added the first nonstops to Cancun from Seattle and to Los Cabos and Puerta Vallarta from Portland. Counting new flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles, the airline expanded its capacity to Mexico by 22 percent. Alaska is still dealing with on-time and performance problems, but recently said it may add more distant destinations.

What’s interesting is that Alaska is increasingly courting non-vacation travelers. It recently added Spanish in-flight announcements, a Spanish web site and year-around nonstops to Mexico City and La Paz from Los Angeles. Will it eventually restore the business link between Seattle and Mexico Cty? (Vancouver has 11 nonstops a week, according to that airport.)

With the 2010 Olympics about to focus winter-sports attention on the region, the Washington ski industry has a golden opportunity to market itself. But less-than-ideal weather, lack of overnight accommodations and expansion limitations make it unlikely to spring into the national spotlight, according to this article in the News Tribune.

Wet, heavy snow is one reason that skiing accounts for only 2 percent of overnight recreational trips in the state — about the same as cycling and horseback riding. “If you can ski in Washington, you can rip any place in the world,” Chris Rudolph, marketing director for Stevens Pass, is quoted as saying. “But ‘Come ski our hard snow’ doesn’t exactly make a great marketing slogan.”

Most ski areas lack nearby hotels and can’t expand because they are located on public land. Instead of trying to lure tourists, the industry is talking about modest improvements to keep locals from going to Utah and Colorado, let alone B.C. Crystal Mountain is expanding, building a hotel and adding transportation. But officials say the best marketing is with a ski bum image such as at Mount Baker, which supposedly sacrifices about $50,000 in corporate sponsorships to keep ads and TVs out.