Biodiesel maker Nova Biosource Fuels has agreed to purchase 50% of the biodiesel produced from a Greenville, Mississippi plant that is a joint ventire between Nova and Scott Petroleum.

In a company press release, Nova says the plant will be capable of producing 20 million gallons of biodiesel a year when it is finished this summer:

“We selected Nova’s technology based upon our confidence in the technology and the entire Nova team,” said Solon Scott, President of Scott Petroleum. “Nova’s ability to utilize multiple feedstocks, produced right here in the Delta, and its ability to generate outstanding fuel quality gave us the confidence to invest and become a producer in the emerging biodiesel industry. This tolling and off-take agreement is an extension of our continuing partnership with Nova, and we are very pleased to embark on this new opportunity.”

“Our relationship with Solon and Scott Petroleum has continued to evolve largely in part because of Solon’s vision to vertically integrate from the farm to fuel,” said Kenneth T. Hern, Nova’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Scott Petroleum has demonstrated leadership with an outstanding and successful track record as a petroleum distributor in the Delta for many years. We are very pleased to see that the continued benefits of our long-term alliance with Scott Petroleum will produce biodiesel utilizing our proprietary technology while granting us 50 percent of all production from the plant.”

The plant will use catfish oil, poultry fat and other rendered products from the area.

Nova is building three to four biodiesel refineries able to produce 160 to 240 million gallons of biodiesel fuel each year. In the next few years, Nova intends to have seven 20-60 million-gallon-a-year refineries up and running.