By Karl Plume
Dec 22 (Reuters) – U.S. grain handler CGB Enterprises Inc and farmer cooperative Minnesota Soybean Processors are building a soy processing plant in North Dakota, the second new crushing facility announced in the state this year.
The plant – which will be built near Casselton, North Dakota, is expected to crush 42.5 million bushels of soybeans in the first year of operation, according to a statement posted on CGB’s website Tuesday.
The facility will also produce soymeal livestock feed and soybean oil to be used for food and renewable fuel. Construction is set to begin next spring, and is expected to be finished and begin operations in 2024, CGB said.
The new plant comes amid booming demand for vegetable oils for use in biofuels, most notably renewable diesel, a “drop-in fuel” which can be used interchangeably with fossil fuel-based diesel in engines. North American capacity to produce the fuel is projected to surge over the next three years, and demand for feedstocks is likely to be brisk.
Renewable diesel can be made from used restaurant grease and animal fat, but soybean oil is expected eventually to be the primary feedstock for the fuel.
The Casselton plant will be North Dakota’s second soy crushing facility announced this year, after Archer-Daniels-Midland Co ADM.N said in May it would build a $350 million crushing and refining complex in Spiritwood.
North Dakota, the No. 3 U.S. soybean state in terms of acreage this year, has traditionally been a major exporter of whole soybeans to China. The new crushing plants are expected to consume a significant share of the state’s production once they are completed.
“It is a unique opportunity to add value right here, provide a local market for North Dakota soybeans and boost economic growth in our state,” said North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring.
(Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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