REG plans $24m expansion to Ralston biorefinery

Renewable Energy Group plans a $24 million (€21.7m) investment to expand its first biorefinery to an annual nameplate production capacity of 30 million gallons.

The REG Ralston expansion announcement comes on the heels of Landus Cooperative expanding its adjacent soy crush operation.

"Ralston is where it all began for REG and the experience and lessons we have learned, and are still learning, have helped our company grow into what it is today," said Daniel J. Oh, president and CEO at REG.

"On behalf of our farmer-owners, we look forward to finalising plans with REG for their expansion as another way to add value to our soybeans via oil utilisation at the Ralston biorefinery," said John Scott, an Odebolt, Iowa, farmer and president at the Landus Cooperative board of directors.

With a greater, adjacent feedstock supply, REG calls the capacity expansion is a “logical investment".

Once completed, the Ralston expansion would increase REG's cumulative nameplate capacity from its 11 active biomass-based diesel plants across the country to 470 million gallons annually.