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Orlando, Fla.-based Xenerga Inc. is set to open its first biodiesel plant in LaPorte, Ind., in mid-March.
The Xenerga business model consists of easily replicable, small-scale production facilities designed to serve local markets, using waste cooking oil and animal fats as feedstocks. “Our unique business model will change the way biodiesel is profitably produced,” said Xenerga Chief Executive Officer Jason Sayers. “Many of the plants being built today are 100 MMgy plants that require a huge investment and have complicated logistics. We’ve taken a different view. We’ve cut out the logistical problems, and we distribute the biodiesel locally without a lot of the distribution costs.”
The company teams with investors in various locations and helps them obtain permitting. Xenerga then builds the plant and trains the staff. The company is targeting 20 major U.S. markets during its first phase of plant openings. The 5 MMgy plant in LaPorte is owned by Indiana Flex Fuels, a consortium of 15 businessmen.
“The biofuel industry is a fast-growing industry that lies somewhere between petroleum and agriculture,” said Dennis Zeedyk, general manager of the LaPorte plant and president of Indiana Flex Fuels. “Working with Xenerga allowed us to reach start-up and ultimately production faster while avoiding some of the technological pitfalls that would be faced by our lack of experience in biodiesel production.”
Xenerga and Indiana Flex Fuels teamed with Ancon Construction to develop the LaPorte plant. The company’s second plant location is under construction in Mansfield, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by mid-March, as well.