T

he effort to develop alternative energy is sprouting new projects across Iowa, a state with plentiful resources to develop fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. Many of these energy entrepreneurs are approaching their work with a decided sense of urgency.
   Just ask Warren Bush, an attorney and member of The Biodiesel Group (TBG), a consultancy formed to develop biodiesel plants in the state. TBG currently has a facility in Wall Lake set to begin production in May and others in Newton, Farley and Washington are in the planning stage.
   "We need to make a strategic decision in this country as to whether we're going to gain some degree of energy dependence, because at some point we're going to run out of oil and I don't particularly like being dependent on the Middle East," Bush says.
   The four plants, each with annual capacities of 30 million gallons, will be identical, each built at a cost of US$50 million and employing 30 employees at wages of $15 per hour and higher. Each plant is being developed as a limited liability corporation with all of the investors from Iowa. The Wall Lake facility is operated by Western Iowa Energy LLC, which has more than 650 investors.
   Bush says the site selection criteria for biodiesel plants are relatively simple, but essential. Sites must have natural gas service, good railroad access with upgraded tracks capable of handling large tanker cars, good electrical service and a reliable water supply.
   Feedstocks of soybean oil and animal fats are plentiful in Iowa, but it's not essential to locate a biodiesel plant close to these sources, Bush says, adding that it makes sense to manufacture biodiesel in Iowa and supply the rest of the nation.
   "Once you load a tanker up with soybean oil, it doesn't make a difference whether you haul it 10 miles or 100," he says. Iowa is currently second to Minnesota in biodiesel production, but Bush figures Iowa will stake a claim to that title by the end of next year. Once produced, the biodiesel will be shipped by rail, primarily to west coast destinations.
   "We're ahead of the curve," Bush says, adding that his group will likely develop plans for more biodiesel plants in the coming months.
   The National Biodiesel Board says as of March 2, more than 50 companies across the U.S. have developed biodiesel plants with more than 40 more under construction. Combined capacity, if realized, will top 329 million gallons. In 2005, total U.S. production was 75 million gallons, or 23 percent of that forthcoming capacity. Iowa currently has four plants in operation, six under construction and many more in various planning stages.
   These projects include a 60-million gallon capacity plant that will be built in Fairfield by a joint venture between NewGen Technologies of Charlotte, N.C., and PowerShift Energy, a subsidiary of Casper, Wyo.-based HTH Wind Energy.
   Cargill, the nation's third-largest Ethanol producer, is building a 75.5- million- gallon- per- year biodiesel plant and a 30- million- pound- per- year glycerin facility in Iowa Falls adjacent to its existing soybean crushing facility.