Posted July 21, 2010

The used cooking oil supply for Ames, Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group Inc. just got bigger. REG has agreed to purchase yellow grease from Restaurant Technologies Inc. With over 16,000 used cooking oil collection systems spread throughout the U.S., along with 36 collection depots, REG now has access to RTI's national distribution chain of used cooking oil. "We have a system that we've put into restaurants that allows us to help them automate cooking oil use. We deliver cooking oil and we also remove it," said Jeff Kiesel, CEO for the Minnesota-based RTI.

With new access to the cooking oil collection depots, REG vice president of supply chain management Dave Elsenbast said the company now has the potential "to replace more than a half million barrels of imported crude oil" with biodiesel.

Along with the RTI cooking oil contract, REG has also acquired Tellurian Biodiesel Inc., a California biodiesel company and marketer, and American BDF LLC, a joint-venture owned by Golden State Service Industries, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Golden State Foods.

Kiesel noted that working with REG gives RTI "a good contract with a good customer." And, Kiesel said, "It does help our customers to be part of the green revolution and have a green story." REG, which currently has a production capacity of more than 200 MMgy, said the finished biodiesel produced in part from the yellow grease will be marketed and distributed under the company's REG-9000 brand. The amount of the contract was not made available, but Kiesel said REG will purchase the oil for market price.