Rising costs kill another US biodiesel project

10 June 2008 17:07  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Rising commodity costs have killed another US biodiesel project after North Prairie Productions said on Tuesday it would halt construction of its 150,000 tonne/year Wisconsin refinery project. 

“We decided it wasn’t going to work with commodity prices,” company board chairman John Sheehy said. “We’re going to cash out and give some money back.”

Rising energy and soy oil costs have led to biodiesel refineries across the US to cut back production or shut down entirely. North Prairie suspended construction of the $50m (€32m) refinery in November, Sheehy said, and has since decided to halt the project after a major lender recently backed out.

The company will return half of the $26m equity it raised to investors, he said.

“Although this was not our intended outcome, we believe it represents a more positive resolution than the recent series of plant shutdowns that have left investors with little or nothing to show for their support of biodiesel development in Iowa, Minnesota and other states,” Sheehy said.

($1 = €0.64)

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By: Ben Lefebvre
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