Big Biodiesel Plant Opening in Iowa Tuesday

A large biodiesel plant that will be one of the world’s 10 largest biodiesel facilities is scheduled to open Tuesday in Iowa, the Albert Lea (Minn.) Tribune newspaper reported.

The East Fork Biodiesel plant in Algona, Iowa, will have the capacity to produce 60 million gallons of biofuels a year, the paper reported on its Web site.

The plant will be the fifth largest of its kind in the United States, the paper said.

According to Renewable Energy Group, which operates East Fork and the SoyMor plant also in Iowa, the new facility plant will bring Iowa’s biodiesel production to 250 million gallons a year, the Tribune reported.

The U.S. biodiesel industry will add $24 billion and 39,000 jobs in the United States by 2015, the paper reported, citing the REG.