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Illinois ethanol plant to break ground on new soy crush facility

An ethanol plant stationed on the Illinois River has received permits to build a new soy crush facility expected to process 80 million bushels of soybeans annually.

Allison Prestegaard with Marquis Energy based in Hennepin, Illinois tells Brownfield the addition of a 700-foot loading dock will give them a mile of riverfront access. “And that’s going to export approximately 20 barges of soy meal from our complex each week, an equivalent of 1.5 million tons.”

She says it will help diversify markets for local grain farmers. “Not only in the Illinois Valley region, but we expect to work with soybean growers in a 75-mile radius of our plant. So that’s a huge impact and a huge market that will continue to provide for those growers.”

She says the US Environmental Protection Agency recently expanded the D4 “renewable diesel” volume obligations in the Renewable Fuel Standard while decreasing D6 “corn starch ethanol” volumes and Marquis sees soybean oil as a key feedstock for the future of renewable diesel production.

“Hopefully we can continue to decarbonize those sectors that renewable diesel plays into as well as create another feed product.”

Prestegaard says they plan to break ground next summer and have the plant fully operational by 2026.

The Hennepin location currently produces 395 million gallons of ethanol and 1 million tons of high protein animal feed from DDGs annually with exports going to 34 countries. Marquis also has a location in Necedah, Wisconsin that produces 100 million gallons of ethanol each year.  

Audio: Interview with Allison Prestegaard, Marquis Energy

Photo courtesy of Marquis Energy