After five years in the planning and development stage, Northeast Biodiesel and Co-op Power broke ground on the construction of their new renewable fuel processing plant in Greenfield.

The new plant will use recycled vegetable oil to produce clean and renewable biodiesel fuel for home heating and transportation at its site on Silvio Conte Drive in the Greenfield Industrial Park. Construction is set to begin on the new 6,600-square-foot building this month. In October, a Green Fuels biodiesel processor will arrive, followed by two months of employee training and equipment testing, with biodiesel fuel production slated to begin in January.

"The two key factors enabling Northeast Biodiesel to move forward now are technology changes permitting production of biodiesel at smaller scales and the patience of our investors," said Larry Union, president and CEO of Northeast Biodiesel.

Co-op Power owns the majority of shares in Northeast Biodiesel, which is an independent limited liability corporation. Co-op Power is a member-owned cooperative founded in 2005 to create community-owned renewable energy resources across the Northeast. Co-op Power invested $135,000 of its member equity in Northeast Biodiesel, which leveraged $1 million from 24 investors.