Missouri biodiesel plant gets new owners, lease on life

With help from a $3.3 million loan guarantee from the USDA Rural Energy for America Program, Chicago-based Lakeview Energy LLC has purchased the assets of the former Producer’s Choice Soy Energy facility in Moberly, Missouri, along with nearly 7 acres of land. The company plans to invest close to $5 million to upgrade the 10 MMgy biodiesel production plant, now called Lakeview Biodiesel LLC.

Lakeview Energy CEO Jim Galvin said the Moberly area offers a significant workforce pool to pull from, including many people with work experience in the biofuels sector.

“After looking at various locations, we decided to expand in Moberly due in part to the availability of the PCSE facility but also the abundance of quality employees in the area,” Galvin said. “We are excited about the opportunity to rapidly expand our operations and the necessary work on the Moberly facility has already begun. We have enjoyed working with the city of Moberly and the Moberly Area Economic Development Corporation and look forward to a long and rewarding relationship in Moberly.”

The project will create 19 fulltime jobs at the facility, with hiring to begin immediately.

MAEDC President Corey Mehaffy said his office has been working with the company for several months reviewing programs available to assist Lakeview Energy and discussing the workforce assets in the area. “We are excited to welcome Lakeview to Moberly and we look forward to supporting their efforts to bring this new project online as well as grow their business in the years to come,” he said.

Moberly Mayor Bob Riley added, “We appreciate the company’s willingness to make this investment in the region …This project is another example of the private and public sectors partnering together to encourage new investment and create new jobs in the region. We welcome the company to Moberly and we are confident Lakeview Biodiesel will be a good corporate citizen.”

Lakeview Energy is a renewable energy company with investments in biofuels, agribusiness and wind energy. The biofuels division holds investments in two biorefineries located in Merrill, Iowa, and Coshocton, Ohio. Both plants combine to produce 132 million gallons of biofuel, 300,000 tons of distillers grains and nearly 3 million gallons of corn oil.