Surgoinsville, TN—(May 7, 2008)—Nu-Energie
held a ribbon cutting to mark the completion and commissioning of
its new bio-diesel plant in Surgoinsville, Tennessee. The plant was
built in an existing 13,000 square foot facility in the Phipps Bend
Industrial Park and is the first bio-diesel manufacturing facility
in Northeast Tennessee and will create 35 new jobs representing a
$4 million capital investment.
The plant will initially produce 5 million gallons per
year of diodiesel from soybeanoil feedstocks. Line two, another 5
million gallon per year line is scheduled to be operating by January
of 2009 taking the plant to 15 million gallons annually.
The production line consists of a transesterification
reactor, neutralization system, separation systems that remove the
glycerin, purifiers and a quality control lab. Finished product will
be stored in the plant's tank farm consisting of 30,000 gallon storage
tanks.
The event was attended by Tennessee Economic and Community
Development Commissioner Matt Kisber and Agriculture Commissioner
Ken Givens. "ECD works hard to offer businesses like Nu-Energie
the resources they need to locate in Tennessee," Kisber said.
"Energy is the new frontier of job creation, and companies like
this one will help make Tennessee the leader of this emerging industry.
"The Department of Agriculture is happy to support
the investment that Nu-Energie is making in this facility, which will
take an important farm commodity and add value to it," Givens
said. "Biofuel projects like this not only go a long way to help
reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but they also help provide important
local market options for farmers and are a boost to our rural economy."
Nu-Energie is already developing a partnership with
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and they have secured Eastman Chemical
as their first customer. For more information on the Sam Dong Company,
visit their website at www.nu-energie.com.
