Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group Inc. has signed a deal with three Midwest biodiesel plants to consolidate under the REG name.
Biodiesel Magazine reports that Western Iowa Energy with a 30 MGY refinery in Wall Lake, Iowa; Central Iowa Energy’s 30 MGY Newton, Iowa facility; and the Danville, Illinois Blackhawk Biofuels, LLC, a 45 MGY facility in Danville, Ill., are part of the deal:
Ownership of the operations of all four companies will be consolidated in a new holding company to be named Renewable Energy Group, Inc. The consolidated company will be owned by the current members of the three acquired companies and current Renewable Energy Group (REG) investors, including Bunge North America, ED&F Man, Natural Gas Partners, NGP Energy Technology Partners, US Renewables Group (USRG) and West Central Cooperative. The transaction is subject to approvals by the shareholders of all four companies and to other conditions, including customary regulatory approvals.
REG’s chairman and chief executive officer Jeff Stroburg cited demand by major petroleum distributors and oil refiners as a key factor in the decision to move forward with plant consolidation. “As the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) takes effect and our nation moves toward energy reform, the distillate market is demanding technical expertise, dependable supply, more efficient distribution and creative pricing options from major biodiesel partners,” Stroburg said. Under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, the RFS calls for 500 million gallons of domestic biodiesel consumption ramping up to 1 billion biodiesel gallons in 2012.
REG management believes the consolidation will help the company by bringing greater economies of scale in biodiesel production.
During his 
A big rig running on natural gas… a propane-fueled trimmer… gas from a wastewater treatment plant burned to make electricity… these are just some of the projects the Environmental Protection Agency has recognized in its annual 
The ethanol industry has spoken and the Few Ethanol Workshop (FEW) now has seven candidates for its 
In a company statement, Adam Allard, President of 
In the first quarter of 2009, more than 12 percent of the total fuel used by the state’s light-duty vehicles was E85, an 85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline blend. The 150,000 gallons of E85 consumed during the three months represents a 37 percent increase over the same period last year, fleet officials said.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucuses will join forces tomorrow with the 
When people are discussing energy, how many conversations revolve around physics and its role in developing better renewable energy? I’d venture a guess and say for most people, the answer is never. Until now. This week I read, 
Although I enjoyed the entire book, I’m going to focus on two chapters, “Energy, Mass and E=mc2”and “Smart Energy”. Einstein brought to the world its understanding of mass and energy and demonstrated that the two are united and that mass can be converted to different forms of energy. But what exactly is energy? “…energy is the currency of existence….Energy cannot be created nor destroyed; it can only be converted from one form to another.”
Earlier this year, I told you how Encore Energy was targeting troubled biodiesel plants… ones producing below their capacity… for acquisition (see 
A green fuel that also gives you the intoxicating aroma of bacon as you drive? It’s as if half of Homer Simpson’s brain had been implanted into Al Gore! A small, startup company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin has opened its first biodiesel station with the feedstock being the pork fat left over from making pre-cooked bacon.