The new facility is adjacent to its existing 100,000-ton biodiesel production facility in Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province.
The new biodiesel facility is expected to be operating at 25% – 30% capacity in the first quarter of 2011 and 50% – 60% capacity in the second quarter, ramping to 80% – 90% utilization rate in the third quarter.
The total construction cost of the new facility was approximately $19.3m, of which $18.3m has been paid by the company to date and the remaining $1m will be paid in the first quarter of 2011.
The company’s advanced production technology at this second-generation 50,000-ton biodiesel facility is estimated to reduce production costs by approximately 20%.
This facility utilizes an even further diverse supply of raw materials, such as crop straw, agricultural waste and organic waste, and is expected to provide the company with better input cost controls while ensuring optimal capacity utilization.
