News
Leader of idled Iowa biodiesel plant speaks to ongoing uncertainties
The head of an Iowa-based biodiesel production facility says operations have been on-hold for several months and the situation hasn’t improved.
“We’re shut down and we have been since the end of December,” said Bradley Wilson, president of Western Iowa Energy.
Wilson says continued market uncertainty has been challenging for biodiesel producers.
“It derives from the EPA not increasing the Renewable Volume Obligations, the RVOS, like they should have been,” he said. “And then also the lack of final guidance from the Treasury on the 45Z (tax credit).”
Western Iowa Energy, based in Wall Lake, is a BQ9000 Accredited Producer and is capable of producing 45 million gallons annually. The company says it has the flexibility to turn multiple feedstocks into biodiesel due to its specialized pre-treatment facility.
Wilson tells Brownfield if the U.S. EPA doesn’t increase RVO levels soon, it will be detrimental to the entire industry.
“It costs us a lot of money just to be shut down,” he said. “We are keeping our employees employed. We did have to cut our workforce by just under 25%.”
In April, U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota sent a letter to the EPA asking administrator Lee Zeldin to raise RVO levels to 5.3 billion gallons per year.
Wilson made his comments in an interview with Brownfield’s Kellan Heavican, which can be heard below.
Can you see through the BS here? “We need the government to REQUIRE more biodiesel blending (RVO)” and we “need the government to give us more tax credit (45Z)” to survive. So, the government needs to tell you what to put in your tank, then use your tax dollars to pay for it. The feedstock costs more than the product….You like that? This is stupid.