Scribner, NE - A group of northeast Nebraska farmers has announced plans to build a biodiesel plant capable of producing 5 million gallons a year of the renewable, soybean-based fuel.

The group says the $4 million to $6 million facility is scheduled to open by fall. It would be the state's first commercial biodiesel facility.

"It is a step in the right direction to try and free us up from foreign oil. There's too much havoc over that stuff," said Bret Brodersen of Tekamah, one of the seven farmers who formed Northeast Nebraska Biodiesel.

Nebraska produces more than 200 million bushels of soybeans a year. But while it has been among the national leaders in production of corn-based ethanol, it has lagged in developing biodiesel facilities.

By comparison, Iowa has four biodiesel plants operating and will have nine in production by the end of the year, according to the Iowa Soybean Association.

The planned Scribner plant is described as a small- or medium-sized production facility, employing six to eight people. It will be next to anexisting facility in Scribner that turns soybeans into soybean oil.

The technical developer for the project, Robert Byrnes, a chemical engineer from Lyons, Neb., has been producing small batches of biodiesel since August for personal use on his farm.

Byrnes said it is important that Nebraska "get in the game" of producing biodiesel and not just be a supplier of raw ingredients used to produce the fuel - primarily soybeans but also animal fats from meatpacking plants.

"The Nebraska Soybean Board did a study and found an immediate demand for 24 million gallons a year of biodiesel in the state," he said.

Byrnes said that if all the fats and oils produced in the state were converted to biodiesel, Nebraska would produce approximately 500 million gallons of the fuel annually.

Biodiesel - generally a 2 percent to 20 percent blend with regular diese - is typically more expensive than regular diesel fuel. But Brodersen said it produces more horsepower and better lubricating qualities than regular diesel. It also is odor-free and more environmentally friendly, he said.

More than 640 million gallons of regular diesel fuel were used in Nebraska in 2003, so a 5 million-gallon plant would produce less than 1 percent of that.

The Nebraska Soybean Board's Web site lists more than 220 retail outlets in the state that offer soy biodiesel.

Brodersen, who uses biodiesel in his farm trucks, said discussions about building a biodiesel plant in northeast Nebraska began a year ago.

Other investors are Dennis Baumert of Scribner Grain, Tekamah farmers Dennis Connealy and Rodney Broom, Mike McKenzie of Lyons, Tim Gregerson of Herman and Keith Charling of Oakland. McKenzie formerly operated a soybean crushing facility near Lyons.

Source: Omaha World Herald February 9, 2006