Nova Biosource announced that its Illinois-based refinery has reached the million gallons milestone after 25 days of production. The plant is expected to reach 60 million gallons of ASTM standard biodiesel per year using three processing trains, although the milestone was reached with only one. Other Nova refineries in Wisconsin and Mississippi have a single train that produces 20 million gallons each. The company's global production is estimated between 180 and 220 million gallons of biodiesel per year.

Nova claims to use locally generated, low-cost feedstocks, including rendered animal fats and oils and recycled vegetable and animal-based greases which are not suitable for human consumption.

[Source: Nova Biosource]

Nova Biosource Fuels has two refineries that make ASTM standard biodiesel that are either up and mostly running or on the mend. The two plants, when both are working at full capacity, can make 80 million gallons of biodiesel a year. The capacity isn' quitet there yet, and Nova's eventual goal is an annual capacity of 180-200 mgpy.

In Seneca, Illinois, Nova's refinery is operating at 75 percent capacity turning animal fats and vegetable oils into biodiesel. Nova has commissioned the first train on the way to a 60 million gallons per year production. Over in Greenville, Mississippi, a 20mgpy biodiesel plant was damaged after a mechanical pump failure. Nova representatives are on the site (it's a Scott Petroleum Corp. plant) and will be working to repair the facility.

Earlier this year, Nova sponsored the Sundance screening of Josh Tickell's Fields of Fuel documentary.

[Source: Nova Biosource Fuels, Inc.]

My how time flies. Back in December 2006, AutoblogGreen sat down with Josh Tickell, the author of Biodiesel America: How to Achieve Energy Security, Free America from Middle-East Oil Dependence and Money Growing Fuel and the driver of the Veggie Van. Back then, he talked about filming a cross-country biodiesel education trip in the van. That movie - called Fields of Fuel - is now finished and will be shown at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The world premiers screening is co-sponsored by Nova Biosource Fuels and will take place on Monday (the 21st). If you can't make it to the show, you can watch our own 2006 video interview with Tickell here. It's not feature-length, but it should give you an idea of where Fields of Fuel is coming from.

[Source: Nova Biosource Fuels, Inc.]