DAKOTA CITY - Plans for a biodiesel plant near Hardy have died because of rising costs.
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Monday signed a contract termination agreement stating that Future Energy LLC does not intend to use any of the benefits awarded by the Iowa Department of Economic Development to participate in the Iowa Value-Added Agricultural Products and Processes Financial Assistance Program, and the High Quality Job Creation program.
According to information from the IDED Future Energy LLC was approved for $400,000 in funding in 2006 to construct a $75 million biodiesel plant near Hardy. The plant would have employed 28 people.
The agreement was between the IDED, Humboldt County and Future Energy LLC with an effective date of July 17, 2008.
According to the IDED, the Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance has verified that no funds have been disbursed and no tax benefits have been claimed in the project.
Humboldt County Supervisor Jerry Haverly, who was one of the investors, said the county had no role in the venture, except that the business had to go through the county to apply for the funds. That is why the county had to sign off on the agreement. Haverly said he had refrained from voting on matters pertaining to the business because of a possible conflict of interest.
''The original investors have all settled out,'' Haverly said Monday.
Construction costs and the cost of raw materials were too high to make the facility feasible to run, he said. The plant would have been similar to a biodiesel plant at Algona, according to Haverly.
Former Future Energy President Kevin Rasmussen, Goldfield, was unavailable for comment.
Contact Robert Wolf at (515) 573-2141, or editor@messengernews.net