Biodiesel facility plans presented in Evansville
(Published Wednesday, June 21, 2006 07:43:03 AM CDT; updated Wednesday, June 21, 2006 10:52:07 AM CDT) REPRINTED BY NPP WITH PERMISSION

By Gina Duwe, Gazette Staff

EVANSVILLE - Evansville's leaders rolled out the red carpet Tuesday night for developers looking to build a $42 million biodiesel production facility in south-central Wisconsin.

Representatives from North Prairie Productions and Landmark Services Cooperative presented preliminary plans for a biodiesel plant in Evansville at an economic development committee meeting. One goal was to gauge the city's support.

"This is important to me to see this move forward," Committee Chair Tony Wyse told the group. "I'm pretty excited about it, and I think the committee's going to do everything we can to take care of it."

Committee member John Decker offered his personal time and that of other members to help with planning and permits.

Jeff Pieterick, vice president of North Prairie Productions, said the company would be open with the public throughout the process and planned open houses at the co-op and public hearings to clear up misconceptions about biodiesel.

Rail and truck traffic would be the most noticeable downside, said Mike Robinson, president of North Prairie Productions, which is based in Waterloo.

Most oil coming to the facility would arrive on rail, while trucks would transport most products to major metropolitan areas such as Milwaukee and Chicago.

Smell shouldn't be an issue, officials said. Robinson said he's been to about 10 facilities and hasn't noticed any smell, he said.

Developers also said they would like the city to establish a tax incremental financing district to help pay for the facility.

Committee member Roger Berg told North Prairie representatives they would be treated fairly and that the decision would be based on the project's merits. The city could expand TIF District 6, which is planned for the east side but does not include the proposed site, committee members said.

North Prairie Productions will decide within a month on a site, and the company is negotiating with Landmark Services in Evansville.

About six other south-central Wisconsin locations are being considered, Pieterick said.

"But this (Evansville) is one that really has kind of surfaced for us to focus upon," he said.

The site is ideal because of its location on the rail line and its designation in the city's smart growth plan for industrial development, said Randy Kyle, a Landmark representative.

Landmark would be an investor. The co-op also would sell land for the new plant near its facilities on County M on Evansville's east side.

The facility will be capable of making 45 million gallons of biodiesel a year and would create about 25 jobs with $50,000 median incomes.

A biodiesel production facility in Manitowoc is the only one operating in the state, according to the National Biodiesel Board. Others are planned for DeForest, Mauston and Eau Claire, according to the board.

Nationally, 40 plants are under construction, four plants are expanding and 24 are in pre-construction, according to the board.

"In this up-and-coming market, we're fortunate that you'd ever consider coming here and considering us," Berg said. "This is a very positive thing for Evansville, and I'd encourage you to keep going."

North Prairie Productions executives are awaiting results from a feasibility study from the Wisconsin Soybean Association to aid in their site selection. The study is expected to identify if and where a soybean processing plant would be successful in Wisconsin.
Reprinted here with permission.