The state legislature’s decision on Monday to approve a mandate for the use of a biodiesel additive may create new options for soybean producers.

Wednesday, March 13, 2002

The state legislature’s decision on Monday to approve a mandate for the use of a biodiesel additive may create new options for soybean producers. At the moment, however, local response to the biodiesel mandate is both hopeful and cautious.

The news from the state is good for supporters of biodiesel production in Minnesota, but local soybean producers are also watching what happens at the federal level, said Roger Peterson, an area farmer and board member for Soy-Moor, a soy grower’s cooperative. The proposed legislation makes a federal tax credit one of the triggers for the implementation of the biodiesel mandate in Minnesota.

The legislation would require a 2 percent biodiesel blend to be added to diesel fuel when biodiesel production in the state of Minnesota exceeds 8 million gallons a year and after the federal government enacts a biodiesel tax credit.

One reason local people are watching the news about biodiesel relates to proposals for the construction of a biodiesel production facility in Freeborn County.

&uot;It’s all contingent on putting a plan together in the allotted time frame,&uot; said Gary Pestorious, also a board member for Soy-Moor. Now that a stable market for the product looks more hopeful, speed in getting a plant up and running will be essential, he said.

According to Peterson, the first chance for board members to discuss their options and start taking steps towards construction will come at a meeting on Thursday.

The co-op is hoping to build their plant near Glenville, on land they would purchase from Exol. When completed, the facility would produce up to 10 million gallons per year of a soybean-based diesel additive.

The biodiesel would be produced as a byproduct of the co-op’s real goal, which is to refine products out of raw lecithin, said Pestorious. As part of the refining process, soybean oil would be split into both raw lecithin and the biodiesel.

The facility would be built near the Exol plant in Glenville to take advantage of the industrial zoning for the property, the rail connections, and the existing utility infrastructure, said Pestorious. The co-op currently has an option on 40 acres immediately south of the Exol plant.

Soy-Moor’s chances of being one of the first biodiesel facilities in the state are good, according to co-op members. They’ve been planning the project for almost two years, and already have legal status as a co-op. Currently, Soy-Moor has nearly 500 members.

Biodiesel backers like Pestorious claim the fuel additive would be good locally, statewide and nationally. Biodiesel, they say, is better for the environment, would create more production jobs in rural areas like Freeborn County, would prop up soybean prices for farmers and would make the state and country less dependent on foreign oil.