Renewable Energy Group inaugurates Iowa biodiesel refinery

Oct 29, 2013 - US Renewable Energy Group Inc (NASDAQ:REGI), or REG, said Monday it had officially opened its biodiesel plant in Mason City, Iowa, which it acquired in July.

The company restarted operations at the plant, which was shut down last year, on October 1. It has also launched a USD-20-million (EUR 14.5m) project to upgrade the refinery to use multiple feedstock. Following the modernisation, the facility will be able to use lower-cost raw materials such as inedible corn oil and used cooking oil and animal fats, REG’s vice president of manufacturing Brad Albin explained.

REG purchased the refinery from Soy Energy LLC in a USD-16.1-million (EUR 12m) deal at the end of July 2013 after the plant was closed in the middle of 2012 in response to market conditions and manufacturing challenges. It was built in 2006 and was originally designed to process highly refined raw materials. Soy Energy bought the facility in 2010 and upgraded it to use more raw materials including animal fats and used cooking oil.

At present, REG operates eight biorefineries in the US, three of which are in Iowa. Its annual biodiesel production capacity stands at 257 million gallons.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.725)

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