The country’s largest biodiesel producer, Renewable Energy Group (REG), has broken ground on the expansion to its biodiesel plant in Glenville, Minnesota. A groundbreaking ceremony was held and many biofuel supporters from across the state and the local community were on hand for the event. The upgrade is estimated to cost $20 million.

“No matter who we’ve talked to, the state or local level, they’re just absolutely thrilled,” Brad Albin, Vice President of Manufacturing at REG was quoted in an article published by KAAL TV. “The plant had been shut down for about a year and we brought it back up, last year. It’s a biodiesel plant that turns feedstock, or things like natural oils and greases, into renewable fuel.”

One of the things the plant expansion and upgrade will do is allow more difficult feedstocks to be processed into high quality biodiesel. The plant will also, said Albin, create additional jobs in the local community.

Area Representative Rich Murray was on hand for the groundbreaking. “It’s just an exciting day,”  he said. “We’ve got 20 some good paying jobs here that people are able to support their families with and now a $20 million commitment to construction here. It’s going to create construction jobs and just every bit of this is good news.”

The upgrade is expected to be complete by June of 2013 and the plant will then have the capacity to produce 30 million gallons of biodiesel each year.