Increased demand for biodiesel has meant an increased demand for biodiesel plants… which has increased demand for feedstocks such as soybeans… which has pushed up the price for soybeans… which has hurt the operation of the biodiesel plants. That’s irony, right?
Some biodiesel plants are starting to feel the negative effects of the surge that brought them to life in the first place. This story in the Janesville (WI) Gazette says construction of a $42 million biodiesel plant in Wisconsin has stopped:
The rising cost of soybean byproducts forced North Prairie Productions to temporarily suspend construction on its biodiesel plant in Evansville, President Mike Robinson said.
“We always knew there’d be times when markets are good and markets are bad,” he said. “You’re most vulnerable as a company when you start, and you don’t want to start when times are bad. We just wanted make sure that we are secure when we enter the market.”
Company officials point to a 20 percent rise in soybean oil prices since last August as the main reason for the stop in construction.
Meanwhile, according to this story on the NewsOK.com web site, a biodiesel plant in Northeastern Oklahoma has gone bankrupt because of the high cost its feedstock:
Green Country’s largest unsecured creditor was agricultural giant Cargill Inc., which is owed more than $128,000 for soy oil.
The biodiesel plant began operations in an industrial park in Chelsea in 2005. The business was formed by David Allen and his partner, Scott Williams. Allen bought out his partner for $25,000 in September 2006.
That brings the number of Oklahoma biodiesel plants down to just one, the Earth Biofuels plant near Durant. But two more are still in the works for Tulsa and Guymon. Let’s hope they can stay afloat through this latest storm.
Tyson and Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Syntroleum have formed a company called Dynamic Fuels that will make jet fuel out of animal fat.
Lobbyists for the European Union and the National Biodiesel Board have been working Congress hard over the issue of tax credits.
The NBB, however, argues that the rise in U.S. exports simply reflects the higher demand for biodiesel in the EU, where policymakers are trying to increase the percentage of biodiesel as a proportion of total diesel fuel use to 10 percent. That would be huge in Europe, where about 50 percent of the passenger-car fuel used for transportation comes from diesel.
Ethanol producers say they are prepared for the challenges as the business expands and are ready to adapt quickly. Producers, plant designers and water engineers are all teaming up to try to reduce water consumption, says Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the 
Chrysler has handed out a $150,000 grant to alternative energy incubator company NextEnergy.
Kearney, Nebraska’s Tri-City Storm hockey team is planning to host an “Ethanol Awareness Night” in conjunction with a February home game, according to the 
Martin Tobias, Imperium’s chief executive officer, said he was “pleased that we have a way to put our process byproducts to good use — especially with a company that shares our ideals and is building products that are environmentally friendly.”
Maryland’s State Highway Administration will be moving those white snowdrifts off the gray concrete of the state’s roads running on the green fuel of biodiesel.
Farm implement maker New Holland announced today that it supports the use of 100 percent biodiesel in all equipment with New Holland-manufactured diesel engines. That would include electronic injection engines with common rail technology.