Northeast Biodiesel, a worker- and consumer-owned cooperative established in 2008 with the goal of producing 1.75 million gallons of biodiesel annually from recycled vegetable oil, is putting its 179 Silvio O. Conte Drive facility up for sale, reported Greenfield Recorder.
As per news report, in an interview on Wednesday, Northeast Biodiesel President Lynn Benander explained that technical issues with the facility’s processor and 5,000-gallon tank, along with millions of dollars in debt and insufficient support from state and federal governments, are the primary reasons for the plant’s closure.
“We’ve spent years waiting for the right conditions to launch, but the environment is not favorable for us now. We have too much debt to be successful in today’s regulatory climate,” Benander said. “We understood the risks when we invested, and everyone knew it was a high-risk venture. It will be difficult to let go of all the workers who invested so much in making it happen.”
The factory project was initially announced in 2004 by then-U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, who secured a $300,000 renewable energy grant to kickstart the initiative, during a press conference at the Cooperative Development Institute’s Federal Street headquarters.
Although the plant was expected to open in 2018, financing fell through. In 2022, Northeast Biodiesel refinanced with approximately $1.3 million in start-up loans from large institutional lenders. The launch financing included $500,000 from MassDevelopment, $650,000 from The Life Initiative community investment fund, $75,000 from the Franklin County Community Development Corp., $75,000 from the Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (LEAF), and $64,000 from the Cooperative Fund of New England.
Earlier contributions came from Common Good, a nonprofit financial institution for community empowerment; the Rudolf Steiner Foundation, a donor-advised fund; and 104 local lenders and investors.
The company had hoped to launch in January, but Benander noted that by the time the IRS was contacted to sample the produced biodiesel for a $1 per gallon federal incentive, the plant had exhausted its funds.
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