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The recent story of a biodiesel plant under construction near Evansville, Wisconsin that halted construction because of the high price of its feedstock, soybeans (see my November 13th, 2007 story on the issue), has prompted the local newspaper to question how economical making biodiesel really is.

This article in the Janesville (WI) Gazette breaks down how you can actually still make a buck turning about $10 of feedstock into about $3.50 of biodiesel:

Aren’t you crushing an expensive product into a cheaper one?

— The rest is soy hulls, which are sometimes used as filler in animal feed, and waste product. Some beans are lost in the crushing process.

The article goes on to point out that consumers have shown a willingness to buy the green fuel. They just want the price to be less than or at least comparable to what they’ll pay for petroleum diesel at the pump.

Appleton, Minnesota soybean farmer Ed Hegland has been tapped to head the National Biodiesel Board.

This press release from NBB says he’s no stranger to the biodiesel advocacy group:

Hegland has served as a board member for the nonprofit trade association since 2004, representing the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, and was elected to the governing board last year.

* Gary Haer, vice chair, Renewable Energy Group, Inc., Ames, Iowa
* Graham Noyes, secretary, Imperium Renewables, Grays Harbor, Wash.
* Ed Ulch, treasurer, Iowa Soybean Association, Solon, Iowa.

The election is the first one under NBB’s newly adopted structure to help ensure the industry’s ability to speak with one voice. It streamlines and clarifies NBB’s membership categories, guarantees more biodiesel producers seats on the governing board, and envisions an increasing proportion of biodiesel producer-leaders over time.

With all due respect to Willie Nelson’s biodiesel, this could be be the sweetest of all the biofuels. A company in England is making biodiesel from waste chocolate from a candy company.

This story from the Lancashire Evening Post has more about the product from Ecotec:

And in the ultimate test, the chocolate invention is set to be used to power a car from the UK to Timbuktu, on the world’s first carbon negative vehicle expedition.

“It’s in the experimental stage but conventional cars will run on it. But we’re all dependant on the oil companies. Let’s remove some of the dependency.

So instead of measuring mileage by the gallon, maybe you calculate miles per chocolate bar. Either way, it’s a sweet way to fuel up!

You can read more about the trip to Timbuktu by clicking here.

Green Earth Biofuels has held the official grand opening of its new 90-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant near Houston, Texas.

This story on Grainnet.com says the ceremony attracted company officials and Texas Governor Rick Perry:

Greg Bafalis, Green Earth Fuels president and chief executive officer, remarked, “As the nation’s newest leader in helping energy companies integrate renewable, environmentally clean, and high-value biodiesel into existing distillate product offerings, we are delighted to officially open this facility-one of the nation’s largest biodiesel production plants.”

“I am pleased to support the maturing biodiesel industry and this state-of-the-art facility, particularly as biofuels play a progressively critical role in protecting America’s agricultural economy and national energy security.”

Green Earth has already been producing biodiesel at the facility… about 10 million gallons of the green fuel so far meeting tough guidelines. The article goes on to say there are expansion plans for the company to open up three more refineries along the Texas gulf coast.

Despite increased demand for biodiesel, makers of the green fuel are having a tougher time making a profit.

This article from Reuters says sales of American biodiesel tripled last year to about 250 million gallons and will go even higher next year. But the success has been a double-edged sword:

[T]he sales jumps have had the side effect of helping to spike prices for soyoil, the main U.S. biodiesel feedstock, to nearly 33-year highs. Plants that make biodiesel are running well below capacity because of rising costs.

Higgins said some producers were making negative margins, but that the soyoil boom could be followed by a bust cycle that could help profits in the future.

The article goes on to say that biodiesel’s link to petroleum (that helps plant and harvest the feedstock soybeans and the energy used to get the product to market) and its record-high prices are not helping the situation. But officials are optimistic that a new pipeline system that can handle biodiesel will be built and more affordable feedstocks will be found.