High-profile startup US BioDiesel selects Seabrook, Texas for first 35 Mgy plant

February 5, 2008

In California, notable start-up US BioDiesel, which raised $100 million last summer in a first round of financing, has chosen Seabrook, Texas and Stockton, California for its first 35 Mgy biodiesel plant.

The Seabrook facility will open in this May alongside the Houston Ship Channel, while the second plant will be at the Port of Stockton. Lansing Trading Company and EDF man will provide feedstock, while EDF Man will provide glycerine offtake and biodiesel trading.

Investors in US BioDiesel include venture fund U.S. Renewables Group, trading firm ED&F Man, a major international commodity trading company; private fund Ohana Holdings, an Omidyar Family investment fund, and soybean oil buyer.

US Renewables group was formed to assemble and manage a portfolio of renewable power and clean-fuel assets. Several factors have converged to improve the outlook for renewable energy –the adoption of renewable portfolio standards, now effective in 23 states; a national renewable fuels standard, increased recognition of the environmental challenges posed by the continued use of non-renewable resources; and the volatility in the global and US energy markets and fuel refining markets. The company’s Power and Biofuels Fund II
formed US Biodiesel Group, as a platform company to acquire biodiesel assets.

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Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under Producer News