A Minnesota biodiesel plant that has been shuttered for more than one year was approved for a $25 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”). This loan is the second made by its Rural Development division under Section 9003 of the Farm Bill (the Biorefinery Assistance Program).
The loan is to help SoyMor Biodiesel, a 30-million gal/yr plant in Albert Lea “diversify its operations.” The old plant could only process soy bean oil and the feedstock costs effectively put it out of business. The USDA Rural Development loan will allow SoyMor to process multiple types of feedstocks for the production of biodiesel. Construction will begin once the plant has secured debt financing and will last approximately six months. The plant employed about 32 people in its heyday.
SoyMor will use Renewable Energy Group (REG) proprietary technology for the upgrades and once the plant is up and running, REG will market the plant’s biodiesel.