W2Fuel Halting Biodiesel Production in Southeast Iowa

W2Fuel based in Michigan operates two biodiesel facilities, a 15 million-gallon-per-year (mmgy) plant in Michigan and a 10 mmgy operation in Iowa.  Chief executive of W2Fuel, Roy Strom, made the decision recently to shut down the Iowa plant, citing market uncertainty as a reason.

This is not the first time the Iowa plant has been idled.  Following a lapse in the $1-per-gallon federal biodiesel tax credit at the end of December 2017, the company worked to remain profitable, but decided to temporarily shutter the operation in September of 2019.

Congress reinstated the tax credit in December of 2019 and made it retroactive to January 2018.  W2Fuel restarted operations at the Iowa facility in June of 2021, according to Iowa Department of…