Biodiesel to benefit from new barge facility in US

US-based Renewable Energy Group (REG) cut the ribbon on a new barge loading facility at the company’s Illinois biorefinery in November.

The gathering, during the opening ceremony, witnessed the first barge shipment of 420,000 gallons of biodiesel from the multi-feedstock, 60 million gallon annual capacity plant located by the Illinois river.

The barge loading facility will be supported by the addition of 2.5 million gallons of new storage. REG’s total investment in these upgrades is about $4.5 million (€3.3 million).

‘Every full barge that leaves here equates to about 65 truckloads of biodiesel,’ says Brad Albin, REG VP of manufacturing. ‘This will expand the geography and customer base we can cover through the inland waterways system.’

The facility marks the fourth project completed or announced by REG in the last three months. A multi-feedstock upgrade was recently completed at its Minnesota biorefinery, an acquired 30 million gallon biodiesel plant in Iowa reopened in October and is set to benefit from a $20 million multi-feedstock upgrade project.