Nearly 15 years after Renewable Energy Group came to Emporia with a vision of a multi-source biodiesel facility, a demolition crew began tearing down the partially-constructed building.
Demolition marks the final stage of REG’s presence in Emporia. In 2007, the Iowa-based company reached an agreement on a site with a goal of having a facility that could convert soybean oil or animal fat into fuel to the tune of 60 million gallons per year of finished product. Construction began in 2008. The building’s framework was largely finished and some of the exterior skin was in place when the Great Recession hit, pausing construction. Building never resumed, with REG blaming frequent regulation changes from the federal government as a main reason the project effectively ended.
In the coming days, the facility will be razed and all underground infrastructure will be removed. With the end of the city’s incentive compliance agreement as passed by Emporia city commissioners, most of the demolition costs rest on REG’s shoulders. The city will pay for half the removal costs for all underground piers, footings and backfill work. Total cost to the city will be around $175,000.
Video by Chuck Samples/KVOE News
