WBCI
15 Jan 2009 04:44pm | Posted by Steve Rogers | Local News, Business
Company to Make Biodiesel in Aberdeen
Mississippi Investment Petroleum Company (MIPCO) has officially announced that Aberdeen, has been chosen as its preferred site to build its biodiesel refinery. MIPCO was formed in 2008 by veteran petroleum, biodiesel, and technology executives to bring innovative new refining solutions to the renewable fuels industry.
"Aside from the obvious financial, technical, and logistical evaluations we conducted, we felt that the City of Aberdeen would be the most supportive of our efforts moving forward," said a MIPCO spokesperson. "Mayor Jim Ballard and the members of Aberdeen City Council share our vision of helping move this region, this state, and this country forward. Both the mayor's office and City Council members have been extremely accessible, reliable, and are certainly one of the major reasons we chose Aberdeen."
"Aberdeen has all of the necessary elements to support this type of project," Ballard said. "Efficient access via the Port of Aberdeen, a well-developed road infrastructure, and a skilled pool of labor make Aberdeen a great choice for MIPCO. MIPCO's decision to exclusively use Mississippi companies in the consulting, construction, and operational phases was key to our support of this venture. We're pleased they chose us and our local community for such an important project."
MIPCO has chosen Ecosystems, of Jackson, for permit procurement and other services because of their extensive experience in prior biodiesel projects within the region. Ecosystems' knowledge and experience will enable MIPCO to accelerate bringing their Aberdeen refinery online.
Over 12 years of R&D and three generations of production refineries built in the U.S. and Europe have aligned to produce MIPCO's proprietary sono-fusion technology.
This technology allows premium grade, ASTM D6751 and BQ-9000-compliant pure biodiesel to be produced and blended year round from low-cost, non-edible feedstock, such as poultry fat. In independent tests, this superior quality B100 biodiesel formulation establishes new benchmarks in the industry including more thorough combustion and increased fuel mileage.
Aberdeen is located on the Tenn-Tom Waterway where over $3 billion of public/private investment has taken place within a 50-mile radius during the past three years. It is home to a large fuel terminal owned and operated by TEPPCO, a $10 billion Houston, TX-based energy distributor. Another key reason MIPCO selected Aberdeen was the ability to purchase land from The City of Aberdeen and at the port, where a major source of petroleum diesel for the northern regions of Mississippi and Alabama is already sited.
MIPCO's location next to the petroleum facility will enable wholesale fuel distributors and off-road customers, including local farmers, to "short-load" their tanker trucks and then "final-load" at the MIPCO terminal for any blend of cleaner-burning biodiesel fuel. Additionally, MIPCO will provide retail pumps and accessibility to the general public, government entities, and others at its Port of Aberdeen facility. Customers will also be eligible for a $1 per gallon tax refund for each gallon of B100 biodiesel purchased, as allowed on IRS Form 4436.
Site preparation began in December 2008. Ninety percent of the U.S.-manufactured refinery equipment is currently being custom fabricated off-site. The 3G-refinery will be completed in three phases with phase one projected to commence operations in mid summer of 2009. Initial production is slated at 8 million gallons annually. Capacities will be expanded in the second and third phase to 20 million gallons and 30 million gallons, respectively. Local Mississippi contractors will provide general contracting and other services and Hanna Construction of Aberdeen will provide site preparation.