Construction starts on Washington, Iowa biodiesel plant

Ground has been broken on a 30 million gallon biodiesel refinery in Washington, Iowa. The plant, mainly owned by farmers, will use bean oil and some animal fat to make the renewable fuel and should start producing next summer.

In a statement from the Iowa Soybean Association, district director John Heisdorffer of Keota, who is also a board member at the Iowa Renewable Energy Association, was quoted as saying "This is great for all soybean producers and also a great opportunity for the Washington community. Additionally, Heisdorffer commented that this plant will have BQ-9000 accreditation.

There are currently six working biodiesel plants in Iowa and with construction on this plant underway, six more being built.

According to the Iowa Soybean Association, biodiesel production will raise the price of beans by roughly $.17 per bushel and bring over $1.3 billion into Iowa, in addition to creating 15,000 new jobs and adding more than $140 million in tax revenue for the state. By 2008, the ISA projects Iowa biodiesel production capacity at almost 250 million gallons.