Minnesota Opens New Biodiesel Plant

The new SoyMor biodiesel plant, in Albert Lea, Minnesota, is rolling out its first test batches of the honey-colored motor fuel made from soybeans. It's one of three biodiesel plants in Minnesota built to fulfill a state mandate set in 2002 that will require diesel fuel sold in the state to be blended with 2 percent biodiesel. Biodiesel is already sold at more than 200 service stations in the state.

In March 2002, Minnesota became the first state to pass a mandate requiring that diesel fuel sold here be blended with at least 2 percent of biodiesel, beginning on July 1, 2005. Before that could be enacted, the state needed production capacity of 8 million gallons of biodiesel.

Together, the three Minnesota biodiesel makers can make 63 million gallons of biodiesel a year -- nearly eight times the threshold needed to trigger the state law. That's also more than twice the amount of all U.S. biodiesel sales last year.